WITCH HUNT
Lennon is fearful that troubled Celtic star Griffiths has become victim of a
THERE remains a crucial difference between scoring goals for a living and topping up the old pension pot by talking about it.
Miss an opportunity on the park and the chances are another will soon come along. Fluff your lines into a microphone during a live TV broadcast and there is no such scope for making amends.
When Kris Boyd took aim at Leigh Griffiths on Wednesday, there was probably more than a grain of truth in what he was getting at. In a nutshell, he felt the Celtic striker hadn’t always applied himself as tirelessly as he might have done. At least one ex-Celtic manager would have been nodding in agreement.
Had he simply left it at that, he would have ruffled a few feathers. But there would have been no great fallout from his remarks.
Where Boyd walked off solid ground on to dangerous territory, though, was to rattle off statistics pertinent to Griffiths in a Celtic jersey post-2016 — and erroneous ones at that.
Without referencing the seven months of football the striker missed up to July 2019 as he recovered from mental illness, Boyd, unwisely, left himself open to all manner of accusations.
The ex-Rangers man, of course, is the last person who needs told of the horrors of depression. His brother Scott took his own life four years ago and, since then, Boyd has commendably thrown everything at his foundation in the hope that other families don’t suffer in the way his has done.
But that still doesn’t strike what he said from the record. Incandescent at what they felt was extreme insensitivity on Boyd’s part, Celtic have lodged a complaint with Sky.
‘I’m delighted by that,’ said Neil Lennon, speaking before Boyd last night issued a statement trying to clarify and explain his position on the matter.
‘Sometimes players need protecting — and not just from themselves,’ added Lennon. ‘It looks to me as though some people have a vendetta against Leigh and they like to look at him to make headlines. I prefer him to do that by doing what he’s doing just now, which is scoring goals.’
Asked what he made of Boyd’s remarks, Lennon, who has been open with his own fight against depression, replied: ‘They were lacking a bit of tact. Griff had to go through a hard time and he was out for a long time with it but I think he’s back in a good place and that should be applauded.’
Boyd’s remarks were, of course, only part of the story at Rugby Park. Substituted late in the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock, Griffiths had an altercation with an irate supporter. Abusive words were said to be hurled in one direction, with stocking tape seemingly making the return journey. The closing minutes also saw Jeremie Frimpong stretchered off after a crunching tackle by Alan Power.
A moment of some controversy — not that viewers of Sportscene the following night would have known it. Although the BBC highlights show focused on the Griffiths flashpoint in the main stand, there was no mention of his stricken team-mate being wheeled up the tunnel.
‘I don’t watch Sportscene but, for me, that’s ridiculous,’ said Lennon. ‘It seems to me at times that there’s a sort of witch hunt against Griff. In the main, he’s been good in the last six months in terms of his attitude and behaviour on and off the field, so I think that’s a bit over the top.’
Lennon’s view of the alleged tape-throwing incident hadn’t changed yesterday; namely that his player had done nothing wrong.
Pointing out that the normally mild-mannered Craig Gordon had intervened from the bench as he felt the abuse from the fan had crossed a line, Lennon added: ‘You could see how bad it was when that happened.
‘I think it’s good that my players stick up for themselves and each other. For me, Griff has done nothing wrong and I’d like to draw a line under it and move on to our game with Ross County.’
No one has ever spent a night in hospital after having tape flicked in their direction, of course. But wouldn’t it still have been wiser for Griffiths to turn the other cheek? Without his reaction, there simply is no story.
‘It was a reaction to the abuse
— I don’t think he was trying to hit the guy,’ said Lennon. ‘It was just a case of throwing to say: “Enough’s enough, I don’t need this”. It’s a bit petty from the fan because Leigh had done nothing to deserve that kind of backlash.’
There is every chance Ross County will find themselves suffering in all this through no fault of their own. As if a goal in successive matches hasn’t buoyed Griffiths enough, the Celtic boss feels he is at his most dangerous when he feels put upon.
‘He’s that type, from the streets almost,’ said Lennon. ‘Every player is the same. Every day when they get out of bed they want to prove a point. He’s missed a lot of football and wants to get back.
‘Sometimes criticism motivates you and sometimes it can send you the other way but it looks like he’s got the bit between his teeth. He’s also had support from me, the coaching staff and, of course, the players.’
Most significantly, he now has the opportunity. While the different formations Lennon tried against Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock weren’t specifically designed with Griffiths in mind, the partnership he has struck up with Odsonne Edouard has been a most welcome by-product.
‘At times I think he enjoys playing up there with another one,’ added Lennon. ‘Some of the link-up play between him and Odsonne and the midfield, some of the one-touch stuff and the movement off the ball was great.’
Frimpong will miss today’s game with bruising around his knee but he did not sustain any long-term damage. ‘It’s not as bad as we thought and there’s no fracture as he’s been able to get up and walk about,’ said Lennon.
Asked if he thought Power should have seen red for the challenge, Lennon replied: ‘Yes, it was a bad one — a bit like the Sam Cosgrove one at Celtic Park.’
With Ismaila Soro set to arrive in the next 72 hours, Lennon, who played down talk of a move for Hibs’ Martin Boyle, is still hopeful of adding a new face to his squad before Friday’s deadline.
But it will not be 19-year-old Iraq international Mohanad Ali after the Parkhead club dismissed reports linking them with a move for the striker who plays for Qatari club Al-Duhail.