Leigh Griffiths makes stunning Celtic regret admission

Leigh Griffiths had his fair share of ups and downs during his time at Celtic. At the top of his game, he was an exceptional striker and the best player in all of Scotland when he scored 40 goals in a single season for the Hoops. He also was the highest scorer of the club in the previous decade. But then, for the last several years, he has been nowhere near the top of his game and the past 12 months have been particularly tough for him.

Following his arrival last summer, it had looked like Ange Postecoglou could rely on Griffiths, with Odsonne Edouard on his way out and Albian Ajeti struggling. The striker was even handed an extension. That did not work out though and he was sent out on loan to Dundee. He struggled there as well and ultimately, Celtic let him leave.

Griffiths would then join Falkirk in the Scottish League One but failed to make an impression there as well, and now finds himself without a club.

It does look like Griffiths has been reflecting on his career lately. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, when asked on BBC Sportsound about regrets, he said:

"“What I’ve learned over the last two years is that talent alone isn’t enough. You have to work extremely hard in the off-season.“For me, over the last two years, I just thought that I could have the summer off and be ready for pre-season. It’s definitely not the case. Now you see players have a holiday for a week and then they’re back at it.”"

Griffiths further went on to add:

"“I need to take responsibility for what I’ve done over the last couple of years. I don’t think I’ve applied myself in the best way possible.“You have a contract at Celtic, you think you’re comfortable but that contract wears down. Last year I got a contract and then a lot of stuff happened over the summer. I was involved in squads then I wasn’t.“It was one of those ones where I had to sit down with the manager and said I need to be playing games. He wanted me to stay but fully agreed it would be difficult for me to play every week. That’s when I made the decision to go out on loan.”"

Can Griffiths turn his career around after leaving Celtic?

Griffiths has been struggling for form and fitness for quite a while now and it is hard to see him ever getting back to his best.

At the same time though, he is still 31 years of age and also showed in the second half of the 2019/20 campaign, that he still has a lot of quality left in him and can turn back the clock.

Griffiths can be a very good player for a number of teams in Scotland if he can discover even some of his form. It remains to be seen if he can do that and where he actually ends up next.