Scott Brown praises Celtic team-mate Leigh Griffiths after Partick Thistle heroics

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Leigh Griffiths has been one of Celtic’s most important players down the years.

Speaking to The Glasgow Evening Times, Scott Brown has praised Celtic team-mate Leigh Griffiths, claiming he’s an “outstanding striker” who would have commanded a big-money money away from Glasgow if he was of a more fashionable nationality.

Griffiths and Moussa Dembele were snubbed by Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers on Tuesday as the Northern Irishman started Odsonne Edouard up front for the trip to Partick.

However, the Scottish hitman reminded Rodgers of his quality by coming off the bench to grab a 70th-minute winner.

It was only the 27-year-old’s 10th goal in all competitions this season, having struggled for regular football, but his class has been there for all to see for many years and Griffiths managed a 40-goal season during the 2015-16 campaign under Ronny Deila.

As a result, Brown has no doubt that his fellow Scot is a “fantastic striker”, but believes his nationality does not favour him one bit in the transfer market.

“He does it all the time. If Griff had been a foreign player banging in the goals the way he has here, especially that season when he hit 40 and was scoring for fun, clubs down south and across Europe would have been throwing big money at him,” he told The Glasgow Evening Times.

“The fact he is Scottish makes people look down their nose a bit but there is no doubt to us how valuable he is. He is an outstanding striker who has done it consistently and not just in the league, whatever you think of it, but in the big games too. We are just delighted he is here because he is a fantastic striker.”

Brown is right – Griffiths is a special striker who scores goals for fun. His double for Scotland against England in World Cup qualifying last summer is evidence that he isn’t only lethal against Premiership fodder and can actually do it against much better sides.

Still, Celtic fans won’t really care. If his unfashionable nationality means that they benefit from his goals then surely that’s nothing to complain about.