Griff must find an appetite or else he will be left over
Shaun Maloney reckons Leigh Griffiths must find an inner hunger to save his Celtic career - before the game leaves him trailing in its wake.
The former Hoops hero has warned Griffiths that time won’t stand still and wait for him at Parkhead, especially with Patryk Klimala having now broken his goalscoring duck.
Griffiths was left behind this week as the Hoops headed to France for a pre-season training camp.
Neil Lennon delivered a brutal public dressing down of the striker this week, saying it would have been pointless taking the out of shape frontman with them as he returned from lockdown “out of condition and overweight”.
He was also critical of Griffiths’ response to being left behind, branding his defiant social media messages as “nonsense”.
Having spent 11 years at Parkhead over two spells, Maloney is well aware of the high standards expected of a Celtic star.
And he has urged the Scotland international to get his head down and force his way back into the first team plans.
Maloney said: “It’s a tough situation and Leigh obviously had a really difficult time.
“He came back really strongly at the end of last season. But you read the quotes and see how disappointed Lennon is.
“Leigh has to find the motivation to fight for a spot in the team.
“He has to want to be that striker they go to with Odsonne. The motivation has to be there.
“Klimala came in
January and he’s worked incredibly hard during the break. It’s another person’s opportunity.
“That’s what happens in team sports. Things don’t wait for you.”
Griffiths fought his way back into the Celtic side last season after having been given time away from the club to deal with personal issues. He struck up a goal-laden partnership with Odsonne Edouard as Lennon rejigged his side’s shape to include two strikers.
But with the club pushing for an historic 10 in a row, the Celtic faithful are disappointed Griffiths has returned out of shape.
And with modern technology allowing coaches to keep track of exactly what their players are doing, even during the off-season, Maloney says there was no excuse not to be at a reasonable level.
But it doesn’t have to be the end for the former Hibs and Dundee hitman.
Speaking to the Scottish Football Podcast, Maloney added: “It’s not a good situation but I’m sure there’s more to it than what we probably know.
“It is a little bit disappointing that he couldn’t make the trip because of his fitness condition.
“Nowadays with the apps and the programmes, they know exactly what the players are doing, even during a situation like the Covid-19 lockdown.
“As Neil said during the week, the ball is in his court. He’s got time to rectify his mistakes.
“It can happen, I think there will be individuals within teams that I have seen who have come back slightly out of condition.
“Different people, different players will be better at certain types of fitness than others - some at longer distance, others at shorter distance.
“But generally the condition of the players should stay pretty stable even with off-season and in this unprecedented lockdown scenario.
“The players all have to do the same amount of work so that would be the biggest disappointment if a team-mate is doing less than you.”