Both parties got what they deserved .. I earned a 4-yr deal with the champions .. McCann got a mediocre campaign at Dundee
CELTIC v ABERDEEN Leigh: Drug trolls need to get a life
FROM BACK PAGE attempted to start rumours that there was a more sinister reason for his absence from the Celtic side for the last two games against Hearts and Kilmarnock.
Griffiths moved to clear his name but said: “It was madness, what I was reading. I had to laugh at the stuff people make up but it’s not nice for my family to see.
“They all read that nonsense and it’s disgusting, some of it. The people who put this out there, that’s their life.
“I prefer to ignore what they’re saying and concentrate on the real world. They are sad individuals. They don’t see the light of day. They sit behind computers or mobile phones and make up rubbish to disrupt other people’s lives.
“I’ve learned to grow a pair and ignore them but when there are rumours going around that I’ve failed a drug test and it’s being swept under the carpet, then I have to say something.
“If I sit in silence then that lie gathers more and more momentum.
“The gaffer would get asked about it and he’d blow his lid. I felt I had to put this to bed so that it was quashed and nobody would speak about it again.”
Griffiths, who last night landed the SFWA International Player of the Year award, is recovering and hopes to be involved against Aberdeen tomorrow.
He said: “I’m still a bit under the weather but I’ve been given medicine to take and it’ll pass.
“There are only a few games to go and then I can have a proper rest. I didn’t even feel rough. I don’t know what it was, just a bad infection.
“Last Sunday took its toll and that’s when the doc called and told me to get to a hospital. I was admitted overnight.
“They did various tests but they came back all clear. I just wanted to return to training and playing. It really affected my energy levels and I feel physically weak. I also lost a lot of weight and I’m finding training sessions a bit hard.
“I’ll be back in the squad for Sunday and hopefully I get game time. Then it’s looking forward to next week. Hopefully we can make history.”
Meanwhile, Odsonne Edouard has reiterated his desire to stay at Celts.
The on-loan PSG ace has proved a hit and Brendan Rodgers wants the 20-year-old to stay with the clubs in talks over a permanent deal.
Edouard said: “I’m happy at the club, with the team and the coach.
“He’s given me a lot of confidence. The aim is to stay here. This would be the best option.” BY CRAIG SWAN SCOTT BAIN reckons he and Dundee got exactly what they deserved.
The keeper with his gleaming four-year contract at the Scottish champions Celtic.
Boss Neil McCann with a mediocre season at Dens Park.
Bain could not hold back from a thinly-disguised dig at his former employers and manager as he celebrated his stunning new deal at Parkhead.
At the end of an astonishing campaign the 26-year-old is preparing for a title party at tomorrow’s game with Aberdeen, a Scottish Cup Final next week and his future secured until 2022.
Given he was frozen out and axed by Dundee and McCann during a bitter mid-season parting that involved PFA Scotland there is no attempt to try to shine up the past.
Bain was dumped out of Dens, yet it has all ended incredibly with him playing a role in Celtic’s championship victory and earning the trust of manager Brendan Rodgers.
It’s a far cry from the final days with his boss at Dundee and Bain said: “I don’t think I’ll ever thank him (McCann) for what was going on.
“The two parties probably got what they deserved out of what was going on at Dundee. Me sitting here and them finishing a mediocre season.
“I wouldn’t even call it a disagreement. I didn’t have a disagreement with anyone.
“But whatever went on, the manager wants you out of the door and wants you not to do well.
“You just have to stick by your guns and say you do not want to be treated that way.
“I travelled with a couple of boys and got a lot of support from the boys in the dressing room. They know the full story of what went on.
“I can look back and have a laugh about it. The boys I travelled with stuck by me but you have to look at yourself and know you are going to come through it.
“Like I said, all parties got what they deserved.”
Bain didn’t go straight from Tayside to Glasgow. There was a stop-off in Edinburgh in between at Hibs.
With his career at Dens done, Neil Lennon handed him a January loan move to Easter Road.
However, before he’d even played a game in Leith, Craig Gordon’s knee injury brought Celtic calling on the final day of the window.
It was such a whirlwind he turned up to sign another loan still wearing his Hibs gear.
Bain laughed and said: “I shouldn’t be saying this but I gave it to my mate. I’m probably going to get a bill! “I went to Celtic Park on Thursday to sign my new deal and was actually going to show up in my Hibs tracksuit just for a bit of banter!” Since that night he’s starred in Old Firm games and impressed enough to get a permanent agreement until his 30s. The story takes some believing, even for the man who has just lived it. Bain shook his head and said: “It’s been mad. The stars have really aligned.
“If you look at what happened with Dundee, then going to Hibs and not playing any games which led to me being here.
“Dorus de Vries got injured the day before the Rangers game which let me get a foot in the door here and I’ve been able to play a few games.
“I’m the luckiest guy in Scotland right now.
“I knew with my ability