Griffiths can fire Scotland to Euro 2020... not McBurnie

RYAN CHRISTIE may have grabbed the headlines with his hat-trick in Celtic’s resounding 7-0 triumph over St Johnstone at Parkhead as the 2019/20 Ladbrokes Premiership got up and running on Saturday.

But the contribution of Leigh Griffiths to the emphatic win – he replaced Mikey Johnston in the second-half, set up Odsonne Edouard for the sixth goal of the game with a defence-piercing through ball and then netted the seventh himself - still caught the attention of his manager Neil Lennon.

“Only he can score those kind of goals, touch and finish” the Celtic manager enthused about the striker’s late effort. “If we get the wee man up to full speed, what an asset he is going to be for me.”

It would be wrong to ask or expect too much from Griffiths, who has just returned from a seven-month sabbatical from the game to deal with mental health issues, too soon. He has certainly made huge strides forward and his bright showing at the weekend was another step in the right direction. But he needs time and patience if he is to return to the level he was at before his struggle with depression.

The prospect, however, of having a fully fit and settled Griffiths available for selection is understandably an exciting one for Lennon. It will be hard, if not nigh on impossible, for any team to prevent his side from winning a record-equalling ninth consecutive Scottish title with the prolific marksman featuring once again on a weekly basis.

Lennon’s Scotland counterpart Steve Clarke, whose team have important Euro 2020 qualifiers against Russia and Belgium looming early next month at Hampden, will doubtless have been heartened by Griffiths’ showing at the weekend.

Clarke’s options up front in his first two games in charge of the national team in June were hardly plentiful. He handed Eamonn Brophy, the Kilmarnock forward who had done so well for him during his time at Rugby Park, his international debut against Cyprus at home. He then asked Oliver Burke, who had struck with a minute remaining in that Group I match to snatch a narrow victory, to lead the line against Belgium away. Neither man was exactly a firstchoice selection.

All of a sudden, the outlook is far brighter. Brophy is keen to remain involved, Burke came on for West Brom on Saturday, Steven Fletcher will be itching to add to his haul of caps, Griffiths has returned to the fray and Steven Naismith is also back in action and scoring for Hearts after five months out.

Clarke, who also called up Marc McNulty and Johnny Russell for his first squad, now has a serious headache deciding who to leave out.

Then there is Oliver McBurnie, inset. The Leeds-born forward last week became the most expensive Scottish player ever when he was snapped up by Premier League newcomers Sheffield United in a

£20 million deal from Swansea City.

Having a front man plying his trade in the top flight down south should increase his chances of being involved. Nobody else in his position is operating at such a high level. If he can reproduce the form he showed at Swansea last season – he scored 24 goals in all competitions – then he will be hard to ignore.

But McBurnie, who qualifies to play for this country through his Glaswegian father, has hardly set the world alight in his seven appearances for his adopted homeland to date. He has certainly put in a tireless shift in the final third against the likes of Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico and Kazakhstan and has always done the very best with the limited service he has received. He is also an outgoing personality who has fitted in well to the group. But his impact on the park to date has been underwhelming. He is still waiting for his first goal.

Clarke should be wary of picking McBurnie simply because of his price tag. His predecessor Gordon Strachan would certainly warn against it. He started Burke against Malta away and Lithuania at home at the start of an ill-fated Russia 2018 qualifying campaign immediately after the winger had signed for RB Leipzig from Nottingham Forest for a then record £13 million fee.

Strachan soon realised the gifted but raw and inexperienced youngster was far from the finished article and turned his attention elsewhere. McBurnie, too, is very much a work in progress and has a few rough edges still to smooth off before he can be considered an automatic selection.

McBurnie (right) missed the Cyprus and Belgium games due to a rib injury and should be recalled when Clarke names his second Scotland squad later this month. But he shouldn’t expect to walk into the starting line-up when he does. Others have more to offer at this moment in time.

Much depends on how Griffiths and Naismith fare in the coming weeks. But both men would be better placed to resurrect the national team’s bid to reach the

Euro 2020 finals if they can get a few games under their belts and find the back of the net.

The upcoming double-header against Russia and Belgium may possibly come to soon for Griffiths but going forward he remains individual best placed to put the ball in the back of the net for his country. No Scotland player, not even McBurnie, is as deadly as the Celtic striker on his day. the

McBurnie is very much a work in progress and has a few rough edges still to smooth off before he can be considered an automatic selection