Rodgers alerted by senior Celtic players that Griff needed help
BRENDAN Rodgers has explained that an incident with Leigh Griffiths brought the striker’s illness to a head when a number of senior players intervened in order to try to facilitate help for the Scotland internationalist.
Griffiths has been granted an indefinite time away from the club as he seeks to address a series of multilayered mental health problems, with Rodgers admitting things had reached a climax with the player and the club.
“A couple of the senior players rang me when I got to know about an incident that happened,” said Rodgers. “I was then able to act from there.
“Yes, there was [an incident that brought things to a head], which points towards really needing help and support in order to make himself happy.
“He wants the help. When you have these incidents – and it’s been ongoing over a considerable period of time – there comes a point when you recommend that this is what we do. But we will get an assessment of where he is at professionally then put a plan in place for him.”
It has been no secret that Griffiths has repeatedly tested Rodgers’ patience on a number of fronts.
The Celtic manager demands players train as they play, with high-intensity sessions the hallmark of his regime. Rodgers expects players to lead a certain lifestyle, a lifestyle it has often felt that Griffiths fell short of.
The striker has been plagued with a number of niggling injuries over the last two seasons, problems that Rodgers’ seemed to intimate at times came through not doing things properly off the park.
The Celtic manager, too, seems at odds at times with the sense of devilment that Griffiths has about him.
While Rodgers is painstaking to lend an impression of respect and quiet tolerance at all times, Griffiths has repeatedly landed in hot water with some of his behaviour.
Indeed, comments that emerged this week about celebrating with some gusto at Ibrox should Celtic be successful in winning against Rangers later this month would have been well lapped up by the Parkhead support but would not have been quite so well received in the manager’s office.
And, yet, the relationship between the two seems almost paternal.
“Sometimes you have to be harsh to be kind, so he has had the full spectrum from me,” said Rodgers. “But he knows deep down what I think of him.
“He’s great guy. He is what he is. I love that about him. He’s a little rogue. He’s cunning. If there’s a different or short way to do it, he’ll do it.
“But I like that in players at times. Lots of supporters will relate to him.
“He’s a big talent, who has unfortunately suffered over a