Celtic have endured a difficult campaign and Griffiths’ latest remarks have done little to quell fan unrest
Leigh Griffiths has spoken up in defence of Neil Lennon and Peter Lawwell, but his comments have not gone down well with some fans.
Celtic have endured a disastrous campaign on and off the pitch, with supporters left angered by exits from three cup competitions and a 23-point gap being opened up by Rangers at the top of the Premiership.
They’ve also been unimpressed with the club’s decision to press ahead with their controversial trip to Dubai and failure to replace Lennon in the dugout.
Griffiths, who has scored five goals in 12 appearances this season, issued a defence of the manager and chief executive this weekend.
As quoted by The Times, the 30-year-old said: “They (the fans) have wanted this for so long, they have been singing about it.
“They thought it was a foregone conclusion that we were just going to turn up this season and win the 10.
“It doesn’t look like that. You need to earn the right to win trophies.”
Record Sport quoted Griffiths as saying: “There has been talk about the manager’s position and also Mr Lawwell’s position too.
“But you need to remember what these guys have done for the club. Fans quickly forget what those two have done for the club.
“The gaffer has won five out of six (trophies) since he came back, Mr Lawwell has won the last nine domestic league titles and guided us to a quadruple treble.
“I’m sure the manager has had assurances from Mr Lawwell and Mr Desmond, who he will be in regular contact with. If anything was to have happened on that front I’m sure we’d have been the first to know.
“We want him to stay for as long as possible because we feel he is still the right man for the job. The fans are hurting more than any of us.
“The fans support us and we all love them, we want them back in the stadium as soon as possible so they can cheer us on. It’s up to us players to put that right.”
Some supporters took issue with the comments from a player who missed the pre-season trip to France after returning from lockdown overweight.
Celtic return to action on Wednesday night when they play host to Hamilton Accies.
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