Christ Sutton is never one to keep his opinion to himself and as the fallout from Saturday’s derby defeat continues he has set both barrels in an unexpected direction.
The former Hoops striker has taken aim at Leigh Griffiths, blaming him for letting his manager down throughout the season when he has needed him most, as reported by The Daily Record.
So what has Sutton said?
Speaking on the Record Celtic podcast, Sutton was scathing in his assessment of the Scotland international’s recent behaviour that has seen him play just a handful of competitive minutes this season:
“One player who I have to say doesn’t sit right by me, and I know he came back and it’s good to see him back, is Leigh Griffiths.
“Leigh Griffiths has killed Neil Lennon in many respects. That period when the season shut down for Covid where Leigh Griffiths let himself go and was out of shape, and then he was left out of the mini pre-season.
“A fit Leigh Griffiths would give Celtic a much better option when Odsonne Edouard is out. The fact he can only play a few minutes of games isn’t good enough. He’s a player who needs to have a good long hard look at himself and think had he actually conditioned himself better, had he actually looked after himself better, Celtic could be in a far better place.
“You have to say there are issues in that dressing room. The fact Neil Lennon is pointing fingers at leaks, it’s a big problem for him. He needs to start getting a grip of the dressing room and there be harmony about the place.
“It looks, at this point in time, like everyone is pointing fingers. There’s a blame culture going on. It’s everyone else’s fault.”
So is Sutton correct?
As always with a Sutton rant he throws numerous darts at the dart board and a few will hit the target, he is bang on about his assessment of Griffiths in that he has let himself and his manager down with his attitude towards fitness in lockdown, but is he responsible for the predicament Celtic are in? No.
Is Griffiths to "blame"?
Yes
No
His form in early 2020 was exceptional but plans to replace him had already been made with the signing of Patryk Klimala for £3.5million, then in the summer Albian Ajeti arrived for £5m and Mohamed Elyounoussi returned on loan – a player who cost in the region of £14m not that long ago, to suggest that Griffiths is reponsible for the current “demise” is laughable when so much money has been invested in attackers.
The irony of Sutton to identify a blame culture where it is “everyone else’s fault” and not pick out his mate and manager Neil Lennon for criticism won’t be lost on many Celtic fans as they look for reassurance that it is a dip in form and nothing more sinister as the former Hoops star suggests.