Leigh Griffiths scored on his return to the Celtic XI last night.
Kris Boyd has launched a scathing attack on Leigh Griffiths after Celtic recorded a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock in the Premiership on Wednesday night.
The Sky Sports pundit stated that when Brendan Rodgers was appointed Celtic manager, he spoke about the professionalism and standards going ‘through the roof’ in training.
Boyd then stated that Griffiths has only played 34 out of Celtic’s last 135 league matches, which for him suggests he isn’t doing what is expected of him on the training pitch.
These are some pretty remarkable comments by Boyd because Griffiths recently returned from off-field problems, which included him dealing with his mental health, hence his lack of game time or games.
Therefore, it will be of no surprise if Boyd does receive a big backlash in regards to his comments.
Nonetheless, speaking to Sky Sports Football (22/01/20 at 9:55 pm), this was Boyd’s reaction to Griffiths celebration after scoring yesterday, as the Celtic man seemingly told the TV pundit to shush after he criticised him.
“He doesn’t need to prove to me,” Boyd told Sky Sports. “When I go by stats and I’ll go by stats because you cannot argue with them.
“Brendan Rodgers was appointed in 2016 by Celtic and we heard the professionalism, the standards and the training levels went through the roof. And I’m doing him a favour here because I will only include League games.
“There have been 135 league games played. Leigh Griffiths has only played 34 of them. That suggests to me that you’re not doing it on the training field.
“You don’t need to prove to me. You don’t need to come to me and have a go at me to appease the Celtic fans. Go and do it for yourself because there is a talented footballer in there. Steve Clarke is standing here tonight. Would he love to select Griffiths for Scotland? Of course he would.“
Griffiths found the back of the net against Kilmarnock, as he made a return to Neil Lennon’s starting XI in fine style.
Lennon will now be hoping that his player can rack up the minutes, build his sharpness and add more goals to his name.
If he is able to do that then Celtic’s chances of winning nine-in-a-row increases, as Scotland’s chances of qualifying for the European Championships will also increase.
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