Davie Provan has claimed Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has been “hung out to dry” by Scotland manager Alex McLeish.
The Sky Sports pundit and former Hoops midfielder questioned why Griffiths was axed for the Tartan Army’s win against Albania despite being clearly the country’s top striker.
“For a guy who’s unpredictable at the best of times, Leigh Griffiths did well to keep a lid on it,” Provan wrote in his Scottish Sun column.” Celtic star Griffiths wasn’t just dropped by Alex McLeish for the Albania game, he was hung out to dry.
“If I were Griff, I’d want an explanation from the Scotland boss.
“McLeish played him up on his own against Belgium where he chased lost causes, then bombed him when going with a front two against Albania. That’s a right kick in the stones.”
“Despite Steven Naismith’s goal and assist against Christian Panucci’s lot, Griffiths remains the best finisher we have.”
OPINION
There is not so much a gap in quality between Griffiths and the other Scottish strikers as a chasm. Naismith is a decent back-up, and his willingness to do the hard yards makes him a valuable options. But the Hearts forward will know deep down he is nowhere near the pedigree of Griffiths, whose track record at Celtic, Dundee, Hibernian, Livingston and Wolves demands far greater respect than Alex McLeish has given him. The 28-year-old has always scored goals prolifically wherever he has been and his tally of 100 goals from 193 Celtic matches is sensational. Sure, he has suffered from calf and various other injury problems over the last year or so, but he would walk into every starting XI in the SPL, and it should be the same for the national team. They are not good enough to be able to omit such a fine front man, who is capable of scaring defenders in a way his teammates just can’t.