The Celtic star was a substitute for the clash with Lithuania.
Lithuania’s Vytautas Andriuskevicius in action with Scotland’s James Forrest
James Forrest has suggested that Gordon Strachan should trust his Celtic teammate Leigh Griffiths to start Scotland’s World Cup qualifier with Slovakia on Tuesday, the Evening Times reports.
The 26-year-old began Saturday’s qualifier against Lithuania on the bench, and was only brought on with just under 20 minutes to go as the Scots chased an equaliser.
Scotland manager Gordon Strachan talks with Leigh Griffiths
But ahead of what appears to be a crucial game for the country, Forrest has insisted that Griffiths’ record for Celtic should make him the man that Strachan starts with up front.
“Leigh is the guy who knows where the goal is and I am sure that if he is picked then he would do as well for Scotland as he has done for us at Celtic,” he said, as reported by the Evening Times.
Scotland’s Leigh Griffiths misses a chance to score
“He has been injured and out of the team over the last few weeks but he has been buzzing when he has come on in games. I know how hard he works and I am sure he would score goals at this level because he has done it so often for Celtic.”
Given that Griffiths has not started for Celtic since August due to injury, it is perhaps not a surprise that Strachan opted for Chris Martin up front, even though the latter’s recent form has been hugely disappointing.
Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths celebrates scoring their third goal
But with Scotland seemingly up against it following their draw with Lithuania, it surely makes sense for him to switch things around.
Griffiths will undoubtedly have plenty of confidence having scored eight times in all competitions this season, and his strike-rate in his entire Hoops career suggests that he should be more than capable of reaching that kind of level on the international scene.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
