Former Celtic centre-half and Hibernian manager, John Hughes, feels that Neil Lennon has shown his squad who is boss with his treatment of Leigh Griffiths after the striker returned to training unfit and overweight.
Hughes, speaking on BBC Sportsound (reported in The Daily Record) hopes that it could spur the forward into a great level of focus ahead of one of the biggest season’s in the club’s history.
So what has Hughes said?
When asked about Lennon’s decision to leave Griffiths back in Scotland whilst the rest of the squad travel to France to continue pre-season preparations, he said:
“Lenny has put a marker down to the rest of the players. He’s said ‘I’m the gaffer here and there’s no rules for some and rules for others’.
“I just hope it might be the wake-up call for Leigh to work morning, noon and night, nutrition and everything so that when they come back from France he’ll be right at it.
“This could be the best thing that happens to Leigh. If he hears this and says ‘I’ll show these guys’ and gets himself back in the team and scoring and in the Scotland squad then fantastic.”
So is Hughes correct?
Lennon has experience of Griffiths’s ill discipline from his first spell in charge and although, previously, Brendan Rodgers opted for an arm round the shoulder, the Hoops gaffer clearly feels that this time a good old fashioned boot up the backside has been required.
There is no doubting Griffiths’s talent, his return to form after the winter break saved his boss a fortune, but this latest incident raises serious doubts about Lennon’s ability to trust the mercurial Scotland international.
Hopefully, being made an example of will have a positive effect, not only on Griffiths but also the other Celtic players who now know – in no uncertain terms – the standards that will demanded as Lennon looks to lead his side to immortality.