You don’t have to even read between the lines to know Neil Lennon is at the end of his tether with Leigh Griffiths and the striker is running out of chances.
Speaking after his side kicked off their 20/21 campaign with a credible 1-1 draw against Nice on Thursday night, the Celtic manager could not be any more honest about Griffiths and the situation which has led to the player missing out on the tour.
“He needs to stop all the social media nonsense with all these slogans he puts out there. It’s not the real world we all live in.” Lennon told SunSport.
“The boys here are all top professionals and I have a great staff who are all professional as well. They deserve better and he should know better.
“He needs to get his head down and get fit because that’s what we pay him for. We’ve done everything we possibly could for him.
“He had a long lay-off and came back to get back into the team. For me he was still a bit short fitness-wise but had enough to get through the Scottish games but if he wants to have a future here at the club it’s down to himself.
“We’re not prepared to do a lot more for him. Everything’s there for him. He’s let himself down and he’s let us down. You can never say never about chances but he’s got a lot to do to get back in around it.
“The ball is firmly in his court and it shouldn’t have come to this. He shouldn’t have been out of condition and he shouldn’t have been heavier.”
Neil was asked if he delivered Leigh’s expulsion from the tour himself, the Celtic manager, again was fully honest:
“I did, yeah. That is between myself and him but I told him he wouldn’t be coming on the trip and we were bitterly disappointed in how he’s come back.
“And since then I’m disappointed with his reaction on social media as well, when we’ve asked him not to engage on social media because it just becomes a downward spiral.”
Leigh has had support from the club but as Neil Lennon says, there’s only so much they can do for him.
Getting back to fitness in snatch was a big deal and Leigh was starting to look like his old self before the shut down. The fact he’s come back so unfit Neil Lennon has taken this course of action tells you everything you need to know.
If the player has a Celtic future he must put his head down and work hard for the club, his manager and his team-mates.
