McGhee: I see Leigh as somebody who is now the complete package

IF the true worth of a footballer could be accurately measured in pound signs, then Leigh Griffiths would be Scotland’s fourth-choice striker. Steven Fletcher, Jordan Rhodes and Ross McCormack have all moved for eight-figure transfer fees and each draws a similarly bloated wage to plunder goals in the second tier of English football with varying degrees of success. At best, their combined efforts at international level could be described as underwhelming.

Griffiths may not be in a position to flaunt a driveway filled with luxury cars on his Instagram account but it is he who has emerged as the undisputed centre-forward pick for Gordon Strachan.

Fitness permitting, Griffiths will lead the line as the World Cup qualifying campaign reaches crunch time against Slovakia on Thursday night.

Moreover, Strachan’s assistant Mark McGhee believes he is the one current Scottish striker capable of holding his own in the English Premier League.

McGhee first managed McCormack at Motherwell a decade ago and, although the player has gone on to score a lot of goals in the Championship, the national coaching staff have been frustrated at his inability to kick on for his country. Bought by Aston Villa for £12million last year, he is so far out of the picture under Steve Bruce he has now been sent on loan to Australia to play for Melbourne City.

Similarly Rhodes, another who has been prolific in England’s second tier, was purchased by current club Sheffield Wednesday for £10m, has failed to convince that he can contribute to the team effort.

‘Griffiths has the best package,’ said McGhee of a player bought by Celtic for just £1.2m. ‘I love McCormack but he seems to have lost his way a bit.

‘He is a terrific player but every time he came he was injured. He never really gave himself a chance. He played against the Czech Republic and he made the goal, was brilliant and I thought maybe that was him but it never carried on from there.

‘If you see him in training, Jordan Rhodes is as good a finisher as anybody. He puts the ball in the back of the net with great ease but trying to fit him into a team is hard.

‘If Griffiths gets isolated he can get back in and make it difficult for the opposition by putting pressure on defenders by keeping the ball. I’m not sure Jordan can do that.

‘We’ve had Steven Fletcher in there and Chris Martin too. They all have their strengths but, generally, Griffiths has the best package.’

Almost five years on from his first cap, Griffiths finally broke his international duck in June at Hampden against England but McGhee was just as impressed with his all-round game that day.

‘Take his free-kicks out, if we had ended up losing 1-0, you would still have said he played well,’ he said. ‘That’s where he has progressed.

‘He’s now multi-dimensional whereas before he was one or two-dimensional. He still has that — all good strikers get lots of shots away and most of his are on target.

‘Two years ago if a team like West Ham had asked me about Leigh I’d have said I’m not sure. Now I would have no hesitation in putting my name behind him and saying definitely.

‘He would get goals in the English Premier League now. The boy himself has buckled down but you can only say that Brendan Rodgers and his regime at Celtic deserve a tremendous amount of credit for that.

‘He is that player now and could go to the English Premier League. He didn’t do brilliantly at Wolves but is a different player now than he was then. Totally.’