Striker ‘taking a gamble’ with future

McLeish said: “Leigh feels he’s got to work on his fitness. He pulled himself out.

“He wants to be honest with himself and about the situation. We are happy that there are no other call-offs and we go forward.

“I had a good conversation with Leigh at the weekend.

“I said: ‘OK, there are obviously no guarantees but if you feel you have to get yourself fit…’

“That is down to his mentality. He is determined to do it. Let’s see what happens.

“I’ve said there are no guarantees. He knows that. That is how I left it.

“We are looking for top performances from the guys that we have in the current squad.

“Everybody here wants to play for Scotland in these games.

“If we can get positive results then it just increases the confidence levels and empowers the players.”

McLeish was asked if Griffiths is taking a gamble with his international career.

He replied: “Yeah but it is his personal decision. It is up to Leigh to see what happens in the future.”

It is all a far cry from those Griffiths free-kicks that had Hampden bouncing and England worrying in June last year.

The withdrawal comes after Griffiths was surprisingly dropped in favour of Steven Naismith and Johnny Russell for Scotland’s first Nations League tie last month, a 2-0 win over Albania.

The 28-year-old subsequently claimed McLeish’s comments about Naismith being hard to leave out felt like a “kick in the teeth”.

McLeish last week revealed Griffiths had ignored a phone call from him but the Scotland camp are insisting the striker has not taken the huff.

The Scotland boss has yet to decide whether or not to bring in another attacking player ahead of the trip to Haifa.

Picture: SNS Group.