BRENDAN Rodgers has grown accustomed to fielding questions about the physical fitness of Leigh Griffiths. Yesterday was merely the day he confirmed it was his striker’s mental health which was more of a cause for concern and determined that drastic action was required to tackle it head on.
The 28-year-old, who goes by the nickname Sparky, is one of the bubblier characters you will ever meet at the sharp end of Scottish football. So it was rather disturbing to hear that he had been told to take a break from the game to concentrate on battling a number of undisclosed ‘ongoing issues’. While rumours have long surfaced of the player suffering from gambling problems, the manager confirmed only that a number of personal issues had come to a head and it was time for him to seek help.
No timescale was being put on his return to action. For now, the simple priority was lifting the burden and allowing a young man with five young children to provide for some happiness in his life again. Rodgers was fervent in his hope that yesterday was day one of the rest of his life.
“When you speak to guys who have issues and you ask them what their best day was and it’s normally when it all comes out,” said the Celtic manager. “I remember talking to a player who had huge gambling issues and when I quizzed him on what was the best feeling he said it was when his wife caught him because that finished it and he could start to make himself better. Until that point he was living a lie.
“Sometimes that can be your life,” he added. “Now, once it is out there, hopefully it can draw a line under the issues for Leigh and the club, players, fans can all support him and give him time to become better. It is probably a huge burden lifted from him and now he can look at starting on a road that can allow him to find happiness.”
Griffiths was widely thought to have taken a huff when pulling out of Scotland duty back in October. With Alex McLeish one of many figures giving their support to him, yesterday’s news casts that in a different complexion.
“I’ve been aware of issues for a while and obviously I can never say to you guys when you ask, ‘is he fit?’ and so on,” said Rodgers. “There is a confidence there I will never break. But I think it’s at a point where hopefully he can get that help. It’s more than football now - because he is a father of five children.We will get an assessment of where he is at professionally then put a plan in place for him.
“It’s a number of issues,” he added. “Normally people with those issues have more than one and it snowballs into other aspects of their lives. Listen, I’m not a specialist. But I’ve been around it long enough to see a trend in behaviours and I also know the pressures of football at huge clubs and what the demands of that are.”
From altering his training arrangements so he could be at school with his children on their first day, to giving him tough love, Rodgers admitted Griffiths had had “the full spectrum” from him. But if the club had viewed him as a troublemaker, they could easily have parted company with him rather than offer the new four-year deal which he penned in September. “With Leigh you know where he is at because of his behaviour and his actions and I have talked openly a lot with him,” said Rodgers. “As you do as a guardian and looking after your guys, sometimes you have to be harsh to be kind so he has had the full spectrum from me. But he knows deep down what I think of him.
“I think a few of the guys were probably aware of it [his problems],” said the Northern Irishman. “A couple of the senior players rang me when I got to know about an incident that happened. I was then able to act from there.
“He’s a great guy. He is what he is. I love that about him. He’s a little rogue, he’s cunning, if there’s a different or short way to do it, he’ll do it. I like that in players at times. And lots of supporters will relate to him. He’s a big talent, who has unfortunately suffered over a period of time. The most important thing now is getting him fit and healthy in his mind.”
Social media, something which Griffiths frequents, doesn’t always help. “Footballers aren’t robots. They are young guys who still have issues - it’s just that they are very, very talented. It’s knowing the individual and the person. What you have here is a vulnerable guy but who is a special talent. It would have been very easy to say ‘oh, you’re a pain in the backside, just move on,’ but he is a good guy who just needs help. I have always said at big clubs you need three strikers. I always thought he would be one of those hence the reason he got a new deal.”
Celtic will do their utmost to look after the welfare of their player and return him to a footballer of genuine worth. But ultimately the hardest yards will be down to Griffiths. “We know we have to help him and he knows he has to help himself,” said Rodgers. “It is no good everyone else wanting it for you. You have to want to do it.”
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