Neil Lennon has clarified how his Celtic side is playing tonight as he explained why Griffiths and Edouard are starting together.
Griff and Eddy were the successful combination that fired Celtic to nine-in-a-row last season. However, after a flurry of cameos together earlier this season, they’ve rarely played with each other since.
Between the two of them, 12 goals have been scored this term. And tonight, the manager decided to throw them in together against a struggling Ross County.
In addition to that, Lennon appears to have gone with a diamond. He clarified as such in his pre-match interview with BBC Radio Scotland (Sportsound, 17:51).
“Yeah, it’s a 4-4-2. We’ll probably go with a diamond. We’ve got good balance in the midfield and obviously with Griff and Odsonne upfront, hopefully we can get a few combinations going. Some attacking intent and a few goals.
“They’ve struggled. We’ve played 3-5-2 a couple of times this year and it’s been a little bit sort of stagnant. They’re two good strikers. Griffiths is a great goalscorer and Odsonne’s a great footballer and all-round player.
“So hopefully we can see a little bit of understanding again as we saw in the second half of last season. Look, it’s going to take a bit of time to build that again, but we’ve got good balance in the midfield and good pace with the full-backs.”
Celtic bossing it, but more needed
Tonight is absolutely massive in more ways than one. Especially for Griffiths. Starting games has been rare for him this term, with only one other to his name. He’s instead been overlooked for the likes of Edouard and Albian Ajeti.
So far he’s been quieter than we would’ve liked. Celtic are bossing possession, but we’re still lacking in inspiration in the final third. Outside of a moment of brilliance from Jeremie Frimpong, we’ve offered next to nothing.
In addition to that, there hasn’t been much combination play between Eddy and Griff. They do look like two players who haven’t played a lot with each other recently. Hopefully that changes in the second 45.
Lennon does have options on the bench if he wishes to mix this up in the second 45. Ajeti is back in the squad whilst Klimala is also there to freshen things up. County have been stubborn, so this could be a game where alternative options are needed the longer this goes on.
Needless to say, a win here is huge. With Rangers currently beating St Johnstone, it’s even more essential we stay on track with another three points.
But so far, the Eddy/Griffiths combination hasn’t worked how we would’ve hoped.
In other news, have a look at how the Celtic supporters initially reacted to Lennon’s team.
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