HIBERNIAN seem to have a soft spot for talented young strikers with a streak of daftness running through them.
Following in the footsteps of Derek Riordan, Garry O'Connor, Tam McManus et al is Leigh Griffiths, a forward seemingly as prolific off the pitch as he is on it. In a sport becoming increasingly homogenised and sanitised, Griffiths is what is known colloquially as a "character", an exciting talent as likely to appear on the front pages of the nation's newspapers as the back.
At just 22 years old there is clearly something quite special about Griffiths, whose two goals on Saturday proved to be good enough to send St Mirren to a fourth successive league defeat. His brace took Hibs to the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and himself to the top of the goalscoring charts, and led to calls for a possible Scotland call up.
And why not? Griffiths can lay claim to the title of best Scottish striker playing his football in this country and, with goals in four successive games, is clearly in form. If you can put up with his off-field foibles – and Pat Fenlon, the Hibs manager, is gradually learning to do so – then there is little reason why Griffiths shouldn't be given a chance in an international friendly to show what he can do.
With the Hibs support captivated by the goalscoring exploits of "one of their own" and team-mates and opponents alike singing his praises, it seems that the only people unconvinced of Griffiths' worth are Wolverhampton Wanderers, his parent club. Wolves have allowed the player to return for a second loan spell at Easter Road and seem intent on cutting ties for good in January.
Hibs would seem to be the obvious destination for his talents and Eoin Doyle, Griffiths' strike partner, hoped a deal could be sorted out.
"Definitely, we want to keep him," said the Irishman. "If we were to lose him, it would be a big loss. I'm sure there are a few looking at him now and it will be a battle to hold on to him. Hopefully he will stay.
"It definitely surprises me that Wolves may let him go, because he deserves a fair crack of the whip. But I don't want him to go. We want to hold on to him because he's a massive player for us – the top scorer in the league. You always want to hold on to your top striker."
Doyle has seen close up just what Griffiths can do on the field. "He's special. He is someone who can pull a goal out of nowhere and he gives us an extra dimension," he said.
"Defenders just don't know what he's going to do and, if it sometimes looks as if he doesn't know either, the ball usually ends up in the back of the net – that's the main thing.
"He's never short of confidence but goals help any striker. He believes in his ability and rightly so, because he's got loads of it."
Despite their ascent to the top of the league, Doyle believes that, realistically, it is Celtic's title to lose. Hibs though, he insisted, would be there to take advantage of any slip-up.
"I kind of think Celtic have to win the league. They are far superior to the rest of the league," said the striker. "But we will always be here to give chase, you could say. As long as the league stays that close and tight, it's going to be an exciting season."
St Mirren can testify to that, having sunk from a place in the top half to second bottom in the space of a month or so. They did not play badly against Hibs – and scored a fine opening goal through Kenny McLean – but need to start turning strong performances into points. "We've got a great squad of players, but sometimes we've maybe not had that wee bit of quality to get us a goal," said goalkeeper Craig Samson.
"Sometimes individual mistakes cost you a goal and that can cost you the game with how tight the teams are. We're on a wee bit of a bad run at the moment in the league, I'm afraid."
ANALYSIS Prolific striker's exploits on the pitch have led to calls for a senior Scotland call up
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