LEIGH Griffiths is convinced Gordon Strachan is the right man to lead Scotland to Russia in 2018 - despite the furore over whether his lack of height cost him the chance to start against Lithuania and Slovakia. The Celtic striker lost out to Chris Martin and Steven Fletcher for Scotland's lone striking role in the double header as Strachan stressed the "need to have a certain amount of height in international football teams to defend set plays". While the 26-year-old has made light of the story since by changing his Twitter name to #Shorty and joked last night that he would wear six inch high heels if boot manufacturer Nike started making them, it didn't stop him mounting a robust defence of the national team manager.
"100 per cent [he is the best man for the job]," said Griffiths. "I don't think there is anyone else out there who is better equipped to lead Scotland to the World Cup.
"Talk of the manager leaving is just madness," added the former Hibs striker, who scored 40 goals last season but has lost his starting role in recent times at club level to Moussa Dembele. "To try and change a manager midway through a qualifying campaign makes no sense. We have only just started and we have four points from three games. There's no better game to look forward to than Wembley."
While there has been no correspondence between the two men since Strachan made those comments in a conference call with Sunday newspapers last Friday morning, Griffiths said that no clarification was required. "He hasn't phoned me and he doesn't need to," said the Celtic striker. "It's probably been taken out of context. Maybe if I get called up he will have a quiet word in my ear and explain why he said it or the way he meant it to come across. But he has a difficult job picking the best Scotland starting XI.
"If they make boots like that [with six inch heels] I will wear them!" he joked. "No, I've taken it in my stride. A lot has been made of my Twitter name changing after the manager making those comments. But I think what he said has been taken in different context to how he meant it. He's got a big squad to pick from and he has to pick a starting XI that will go and win a game. He's also got to pick players for the bench and leave players out and that's a difficult job in itself.
"I am always proud to get called up for my country and I'm champing at the bit to get a start," Griffiths added. "The reception I got when I came on against Lithuania at Hampden was nothing short of spectacular. There were hairs standing up on the back of my neck when the crowd welcomed me onto the pitch. I was just gutted I couldn't help Scotland get the win. Of course [England at Wembley] is a tasty fixture but my focus is on Rangers on Sunday. If I can't get a game here what chance have I got?"
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