LEIGH Griffiths would dearly love to score the goals against Hapoel Be'er Sheva tonight which allow Celtic access to the big boys' playground of continental football after a two-year absence.
But first the Celtic striker is more concerned with making sure he can get children Rhys and Kacie to their first day of school on time.
Big-hearted Brendan Rodgers has designed his side's preparations for the match around the needs of his players to attend this milestone in their children's life and who knows going on the school run might be unusual preparation for a lengthy Champions League run.
Read more: Brendan Rodgers: European football 'deserves' to have Celtic back
“I’m giving them the chance to go and walk their son or daughter into school," said Rodgers. "That’s a special moment for a father. That’s why we have re-jigged the preparation.
"Maybe they [other managers] wouldn’t do that," he added. "But family is so important. Psychologically it can be a massive lift for a player.
"You'd need to ask the players but I always try and put myself in their shoes. Ultimately it’s about getting them on the field in the best possible condition as I can, and that’s in every way. Psychologically, technically, tactically and mentally.
“Someone like Leigh Griffiths – a young father – will never, ever get the chance to see his children’s first day at school again. That’s important. Okay, we have a big game but we have lots of time to prepare. I don’t tend to cocoon the players, I treat them like adults. I trust them, and work the trust. Hopefully they take that responsibility as being a mature human being, and they’ll be prepared mentally."
The players trained later yesterday, to allow Griffiths to drop Rhys off at school for the first time. Then instead of an overnight stay at a hotel, they will report for duty this afternoon, allowing him to drop Kacie off for the first time. The striker is delighted to have been offered such special dispensation.
"I have to give a special thanks to the gaffer, albeit it was lucky we got a home tie first," said the 25-year-old, who also has a younger daughter called Layla and son called Jacob. "He said that if boys had kids then we would start training later. We could have been in a hotel the night before the match but the boys are staying at home. Thankfully, that means I can get to see my little girl go to her first day at school and then meet the boys at lunchtime.
"It means a lot to me," he added. "I missed the kids’ birth due to football commitments, so I was praying we got a home tie first in this round. Thankfully we did, so the mothers didn’t give me a pain in the neck."
Mood music or not, the story paints a picture of how contented a camp Celtic appear to be in the early stages of the Rodgers era. You could multiply the good feeling by a factor of ten if they can overcome the Israeli champions to return to the group stages after a two-year absence. "The gaffer’s man-management skills are great," said Griffiths. "If you have any problems you can go and see him.
"As soon as I wake up, I’ll get ready and go and see my wee girl go to school," he said. "It will be emotional, but as soon as those doors close my mind is focused on the game. If you are sitting in a hotel all day, it’s possible you could occupy yourself by over-thinking the game and wondering about what could and couldn’t happen."
While Celtic have been burned too often at this stage to be complacent, there is a confidence about the camp as they face the Israeli champions, something of a surprise package who played a conservative brand of football as they shocked Olympiakos in the previous round. With chances likely to be in short supply, tightening up on defensive set pieces and being more potent at attacking ones has been a focus of training.
Griffiths relived the disappointment of last year's 4-3 aggregate exit at the hands of Malmo, despite having scored twice in the 3-2 first leg win at Parkhead, but said Rodgers' attention to detail would stand the team in good stead. He still craves the chance to prove himself as a goalscorer in the Champions League.
"The only way I can prove myself to everybody around the world is if we get to the Champions League and I get to play there when we get there," he said. "Hopefully that is how I will fondly be remembered - as one of the great players to score in the Champions League.
"Unfortunately I have not done it yet but ... I can only score against the teams I am playing against," he added. "Everybody says he hasn’t done it in this or that. But look at the teams last year. I played against Ajax and Fenerbahce and scored against Fenerbahce in the home game. If we get to the Champions League, it will be a great test. If I can prove myself there I will be very happy."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel