CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers will insist that another striker be brought into the club should he lose Moussa Dembele during the January transfer window, despite Leigh Griffiths serving a reminder of his capabilities by climbing off the bench to score the winner against Partick Thistle last night.
Odsonne Edouard started in attack for the champions, but it wasn’t until Griffiths entered the action at half-time to partner the young Frenchman that Celtic managed to tip the game in their favour.
Dembele, meanwhile, was an unused substitute for the second game in succession as speculation mounts over his future at the club, but Rodgers is adamant that with the schedule facing his side over the coming months, they need at least three first-team strikers on the books vying for a place in attack.
“If Moussa goes we need to bring in another one,” said Rodgers. “Simple. Players need competition and we need to be competitive.
“If Moussa is in our squad then great, if he is not we will see by the end of January. His behaviour is fine, there is no issue and no dramas.
“We are here to win games and I will pick the team I think is best to do that.”
Griffiths staked his claim to start in Celtic’s next match against former club Hibernian on Saturday in the victory at Firhill, not only in notching the winner with a typically predatory finish, but in the overall impact his enthusiasm and energy brought to the game. But Rodgers says he has always known what his striker is capable of.
“I don’t think anyone needs reminding,” he said. “We know what we have and we know what Leigh can do.
“I thought he came on and did great for us. He had an ankle issue at the weekend, he trained a couple of days but wasn’t fully match-fit. Him coming on, you know he gives a threat for a goal, and that’s what you want from your subs; to come on and make an impact.
“If Moussa comes on we know what he can do, and I thought young Odsonne was excellent.”
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When asked if Griffiths has maintained a good attitude despite starting the last two games among the substitutes, Rodgers said: “Yes, all the players [have]. When you try to bring in a group of players, they all want to play, and the idea of the coach is to talk to the players and they respect our end goal which is to win games but not just get results, because results without quality is pointless for me.
“I thought they did that tonight. They are a brilliant bunch and they perform well whether they are playing or not playing.
“It was a very good win for us, I thought we played well overall in the game.
“On the back of a good win at the weekend I thought we looked bright and sharp.
“Overall, I was very pleased with the intensity of the game, I thought some of football was exceptional. It was a very pleasing win.”
For Thistle boss Alan Archibald, there were plenty of positives to take from the game as well, although he felt perhaps a point would have been the least they deserved along with that cold comfort.
“We put a lot into the first half and obviously they changed, bringing Griffiths on and tweaking the formation, we didn’t quite get grips with it early enough," said Archibald.
“They always control the ball and dictate play, but the good thing was we created a lot of chances, and good chances.
“It was a much better performance though and we can build it now and take into the next 15 games.”
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