Celtic: What now for Leigh Griffiths after latest controversy?
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Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths' form and fitness will come under close scrutiny in the new season
A year after he returned to training badly out of shape, Leigh Griffiths appeared to have been given another chance to seize a future at Celtic when he signed a one-year deal.
However, just a week on, the Scotland striker was sent home from the Scottish Premiership club's training camp in Wales amid allegations that he sent online messages to an underage girl.
Police Scotland decided there was "no criminality" involved, but Griffiths' future is once again in doubt after he was left out of Celtic's opening pre-season friendlies. Has his final chance gone? Or is there still hope of redemption for the 30-year-old?
Diminishing returns
Griffiths' talent is not in question. There is perhaps no better natural finisher in Scottish football and, from poaching to piledrivers, he has all types of goals in his lengthy back catalogue.
The problem is, that prowess has become increasingly fleeting. Of his 123 Celtic goals, only 25 were scored in the last three seasons as his status as a first-team regular fluctuated.
Not since 2016-17 has his Premiership goal tally reached double figures in a season.
Celtic arguably haven't had peak Griffiths at their disposal since the final months of the 2019-20 campaign. Having taken time to find his feet after a six-month break to deal with personal problems, he formed a fearsome partnership with Odsonne Edouard as Celtic overhauled Rangers to secure a ninth Scottish title in succession.
By that point, Griffiths was reinvigorated and Celtic were lording it over their rivals. Then coronavirus took hold and lockdown began...
'He came back a stone overweight'
When Scottish football resumed, Griffiths' reported for pre-season training last summer overweight, to the fury of manager Neil Lennon, who left him out of the Celtic's training camp in France.
Lennon, speaking on BBC Scotland's Euros Breakfast Show in June, detailed how the player failed to follow his team-mates' fitness example.
"He's on full pay for the three months of lockdown and he comes back totally out of condition and a stone overweight," said Lennon. "He couldn't afford to be because he hadn't played much football in the previous 18 months to two years.
"During the lockdown, the three months off, we opened the training ground. My fitness coach set up fitness training for the players every day.
"Callum McGregor, Scott Brown, James Forrest, Greg Taylor, Jonny Hayes - all the lads that lived in Scotland - came in. Leigh didn't come in one day, not one day. You can take a horse to water but you can't force it to drink."
'Raw deal' or seeking excuses?
Griffiths has admitted he let himself down, but feels he was given a raw deal "at times" last season having regained fitness only to find himself on the periphery.
His 29 appearances included just nine starts and seven goals. He believes he was made a scapegoat for the shock home defeat to St Mirren in January - where he was hauled off at half-time - as crisis enveloped Celtic.
Griffiths made just one further start in the remainder of the campaign, even with John Kennedy in interim charge from late February onwards after Lennon resigned.
Griffiths says Celtic's defeat to St Mirren in January was a 'turning point' for him
Griffiths told BBC Scotland last month: "I'm fit. I said it towards the end of last season, if you're fit enough to be on the bench then you're fit enough to play games.
"At times, Celtic were losing or drawing games and needed a goal and I was the one brought on to make that impact. You'd have to ask the coaches at Celtic or Lenny why he didn't think I was fit.
"Given the run I had after the Scottish Cup final in December, I played six or seven on the bounce. I scored goals, I assisted goals, I was playing well, but that bad 45 minutes against St Mirren was a turning point."
His lack of game time meant the 22-cap striker was overlooked by Steve Clarke for Euro 2020 this summer, Scotland's first major tournament since 1998.
Having earned a recall last November for the play-off win over Serbia - two years on from his previous international outing - he was in the stands as a fan rather than leading the line on the pitch as Scotland mustered one goal in three games to exit at the group stage.
Postecoglou wants faith repaid
The question of Griffiths' future at Celtic - or lack of it - has become a recurring theme in the last few years. He has relished proving his critics wrong, but this time is his final chance to prove he can still be a significant contributor.
He will turn 31 the day before Celtic's second game of the new league season against St Mirren on 21 August. High standards are required to eke the most out of his remaining playing days and provide the goals his career has been built on.
Lennon, for one, remains unconvinced: "I don't know if that ship's sailed now.
"He's saying, 'I'll prove people wrong,' he hasn't proved anybody wrong. He's not at the level of being a Champions League player, he didn't get picked for Scotland - you have to ask why.
"He has to get himself in the best condition possible and there's no excuse not to these days because you've got great fitness coaches, medical staff, nutritionists and all those things.
"He's a rascal, he's a bit different and maybe that's what separates him from the rest."
But the man whose opinion matters most at Celtic now is Ange Postecoglou. He has put trust in Griffiths with an extended contract and will expect that faith to be repaid. The events of this week are not a promising start.
Postecoglou said Griffiths has "already proven himself as one of the top strikers in Scotland" and also pointedly commented the player "clearly understands my expectations and more importantly the club's".
It's now down to Griffiths to prove he is not trading on past glories and can be a key part of Celtic's new era under the Australian.
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