It wasn’t that long ago that Leigh Griffiths was one of the mainstays in the Celtic first-team. In 2015/16 for example, he made 51 appearances for the Hoops.
Since then though, the number of games he has featured in have fallen each season, last season for example, due to injuries and off-field issues he was restricted to only 20 appearances for the club.
This season has been stop-start for Griffiths, as he has just returned from a three-month injury lay off. However, despite his injury concerns, Celtic boss Neil Lennon has refused to write off the player making an impact for the Hoops.
Indeed, he is hoping that Griffiths can follow in his footsteps when he has a player for Celtic, and play for the club well into his 30s.
“I have spoken to him”
“I have spoken to him about this” he said, as reported by the Scottish Sun.
“I didn’t come to Celtic until I was 29 and people thought I had been here all my life. If you look after yourself and keep yourself in good condition, you can play for a long time now, the way the modern game is going.”
Griffiths is the same age that Lennon was when he joined Celtic – 29. Lennon joined the Hoops in 2000, and played until the end of the 2006-07 season.
However, for the player to have a long-term career at the Hoops and emulate Lennon he will need to shake off the injuries that have blighted his recent time with the club.
Take one game at a time
If he can do that, then he could play until he is 35 for the Hoops, like Lennon did. For now though, Griffiths will be taking one game at a time for Celtic.
He made his return in the second-half of the recent 4-0 win over Livingston, and still looked a bit away from being match-sharp. That will come in time though.
Hopefully he features in the Europa League fixture against Rennes on Thursday night at some stage. The more games he features in, the better for the Hoops, and for the player.
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