Former Celtic forward Chris Sutton thinks Neil Lennon will have loved the contribution of Patryk Klimala on Thursday night and is set to put his trust in the striker moving forward, writing in his regular Daily Record column.
The striking situation at Celtic has dominated back page headlines over the past couple of days after the manager was critical of Leigh Griffiths and his preparations for the new season.
Although Lennon didn’t fully close the door on the Scotland international, his comments were scathing and it looks to be a long way back to the first-team.
Perfect then that Klimala is beginning to look like he can make a push for more regular action.
He was on the scoresheet against Nice on Thursday night and is in excellent physical shape ahead of the Scottish Premiership kick-off.
Sutton thinks he’s now ahead of Griffiths in the pecking order and could soon have the manager’s trust.
As quoted by The Daily Record, he said: “You look at Patryk Klimala the other night. His goal was scrappy in some ways but Lennon would have loved seeing him chasing down a lost cause, charging down the keeper and getting his reward.
“It showed his hunger. He’s come back fitter and stronger, so who do you think Lennon will trust right now? It won’t be the guy who sat on the couch for four months, that’s for sure.
“Lennon has issued his warning and Griffiths has to listen rather than take the huff, because if he doesn’t shape up he’ll be left behind.”
Klimala is very much unproven at Celtic following his January move from Poland but the signs are strong that he is putting in the effort required to make a success of himself in Glasgow.
His pace is exciting to watch and the urgency with which he closed down the opposition goalkeeper in Lyon was exactly the kind of desire we want to see in our bid for ten-in-a-row.
Hopefully his summer commitment pays off and it results in a strong goal tally this season.
In other news, Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell is set to join the SPFL board on Monday.
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