LEIGH Griffiths may be the most naturally gifted finisher Scotland have produced in many a year. But the Celtic striker does not rely solely on his innate talent for putting the ball in the back of the net. Hard work and constant practice underpins the success he enjoys in front of goal. That much has been evident on the Scottish champions’ pre-season break in Austria and the Czech Republic in the past 10 days. Arriving at the home of Aigen-Schlagl FC, where the Parkhead club were training last week, ahead of their annual annihilation by the Celtic coaching staff, the Scottish media caught the tail end of a morning session.
Griffiths, along with his fellow forwards, stood and whipped free-kick after free-kick after free-kick over a mannequin wall from the edge of the penalty box in the stifling midday sun. The percentage which found their intended target was startling.
The 26-year-old showed the same devastating accuracy as he had in the Scotland game against England last month when he curled two late dead ball deliveries beyond Joe Hart.
He may receive the adulation and cheers of adoring supporters in front of crowds of 50,000 at Hampden and 60,000 at Parkhead, but the ground work is laid far away from sell-out crowds in altogether less impressive surroundings.
The Celtic squad have built up their fitness ahead of their return to action in the 2017/18 campaign at an isolated base deep in rural Austria where there have been no external distractions. It is obvious that nobody involved in the Glasgow club is sitting back after the extraordinary season they have just enjoyed.
The less said about the ability of the press pack who have been monitoring Celtic’s progress on their travels the better. The clash between the hacks and the back room team has become a tradition during pre-season. A more one-sided encounter will not be witnessed in the next 10 months.
A 13-4 drubbing was duly administered. It was fair to say Chris Davies, John Kennedy, Brendan Rodgers and Stevie Woods had rather more ability and considerably more running than their lumbering opponents. An injection of fresh legs, a few Bosman transfers perhaps, could well be the answer going forward.
Celtic’s second pre-season friendly was against their old adversaries Rapid Vienna in Amstetten on Saturday. The Austrians were decent and enjoyed by far the better of a one-sided first half in front of a full house in the tiny Ertl Glas Stadium. They deserved to take the lead just before half-time when Brazilian striker Joelinton converted a penalty he himself had won.
Rodgers, as he had in the meeting with Blau-Weiss Linz in Rohrbach three days earlier, changed his entire team in the second half. The visitors finished strongly. Jonny Hayes caused problems for the opposition with his pace wide on the left and won a spot kick with 17 minutes remaining. It was easy to see why Rodgers had been so keen to add the Republic of Ireland winger to his squad.
Moussa Dembele, playing for Celtic for the first time since limping off in the Scottish Cup semi-final in April, drilled his effort into the inside netting confidently.
It also underlined just why Griffiths and all of his team mates, continue to apply themselves so diligently.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here