NEIL LENNON says that Leigh Griffiths was never finished at Celtic, and he believes the striker has made his critics eat their words after he hit a hat-trick in the win over St Mirren.
The Celtic manager echoed Griffiths’ claim that he is now ready to fire Scotland to the European Championships as well, with his recent form sure to have caught the attention of national team manager Steve Clarke ahead of the play-off showdown against Israel on March 26th.
"His timing is pretty good,” said Lennon. “If you need a goal, then why not?
“He's answered all his critics. People were saying he was finished here. It was never the case.
“We worked with him, my backroom team and fitness coaches, tirelessly with him and we were patient, so he owes the club a lot. But with performances like that he's starting to repay it.
“It must give him a huge lift. He now knows he can still do it. We all knew he could.
“There's more to come from him, there's no question about, he can get fitter, stronger, add more endurance to his game, if he wants to play longer in his career and at this high level consistently.
“I'm so pleased for him because he's come a long way and that hat-trick will mean a lot to him personally.”
Lennon meanwhile denied claims made on BBC Radio Scotland by pundit Tam McManus that Celtic captain Scott Brown had been taking painkilling injections over the last few weeks.
“He hasn’t,” Lennon said. “He had one injection a few weeks ago.
“He didn’t get an injection today. He had one a few weeks ago and it settled right down, and he’s had a run of four or five games now. He’s not been getting injections before each game.
“He’s playing great. He’s had an outstanding season, and at 34, I think you have to pay tribute to his professionalism and mentality.
“He just wants to get out there and play for the team.”
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