Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths should be delighted with Scotland’s two-striker system last night

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Leigh Griffiths may not have been called up to the Scotland squad for yesterday’s clash with Israel, but the starting XI should seriously give him a buzz.

Sure, seeing Lyndon Dykes up top with Oli McBurnie may not look great at face value from Griffiths’ perspective. Two rivals taking your place? What’s to like about that? But if you delve deeper into it then it should give the Celtic striker plenty to be cheerful about.

First off, it shows that Steve Clarke is willing to give the two-striker system a go after struggling to get anything out of lone front-men. Dykes has done fine since coming into the Scotland squad last month, but Scotland haven’t been impactful enough in the final third with one-striker formations.

Whether the change is a permanent one from Clarke or not, it doesn’t matter. He’s shown that he’s open to playing two up front, and that gives Griffiths a much better chance of getting his way into the team.

Even though we know as Celtic fans that Griff offers more than Dykes or McBurnie every day of the week, he still battles to win over sections of the Scotland support. So long as Dykes keeps putting in decent shifts, for example, he’ll likely keep the jersey.

Griffiths can show what he’s all about alongside Dykes

But opening it up to two up top will give Griffiths a massive opportunity to go right back into the team for November’s international fixtures, potentially alongside the ex-Livingston man.

Yet it’s not just about moving the Celtic forward one step closer to the starting XI. Going with two up top will allow Scotland to get the best of Griffiths, and potentially allow him to have his most successful days ever in a dark blue jersey.

Griffiths fired himself into his best form in a long time between January and March. Playing alongside Odsonne Edouard, the former Hibs forward managed seven goals in 10 Premiership matches (Transfermarkt).

In other words, he produces his best football when playing alongside a second striker. Given he’s only scored four goals in 19 international outings, that proves he hasn’t had too much joy playing as a lone frontman.

So Clarke’s tinkering and willingness to go with the two could also help Griff find his best form for Scotland when he forces himself back into contention.

Obviously, finding some consistency at Parkhead over the next few weeks will be his number one target. But last night’s starting line-up for the Scots should add an extra layer of excitement to things from Griffiths’ perspective.