JOHN KENNEDY has told his whole Celtic squad including Leigh Griffiths there’s no room for sentiment and he won’t be just playing people for the sake of it between now and the end of the season.
Leigh is now fighting for his Celtic career after it was revealed his four-year deal was really a three year deal with a one-year option the club can trigger.
It means Celtic and Leigh could part ways in the summer without any real issue. The club have to make their mind up on what to do with the once prolific frontman. If they decide to keep him on they have until the end of April to make the call.
Right now, Leigh is in limbo with his Celtic future and his immediate future on the park.
He started the game at the weekend against Falkirk but looked very rusty, missing a golden opportunity to get on the score sheet.
Speaking about the striker and the team in general, Kennedy claims merit will drive his decisions.
“I can’t be overly-sentimental either because I need to make the right decisions for the team.” Kenendy told CELTICTV.
“If we’re going to win at Ibrox next week and have a Scottish Cup run then it’s about the rhythm and consistency of the team.
“So I never make any promises to individual players, not even Scott Brown or Callum McGregor.
“All we’ll do is be fair in terms of how they perform at training and in matches.
“If there’s an opportunity for Leigh Griffiths along the way then perfect.
“He always gets himself into goalscoring positions, which has been a trait of his.
“Leigh is probably a bit rusty because he has been restricted in his game time, but his attitude has been great.
“He’s been training regularly, which is good, so we have to keep working with him and see what materialises.”
Asked about Leigh’s contract situation and if he would be in favour of keeping the striker on another year, the interim manager kept his cards close to his chest.
“It’s a hypothetical question.
“It’s difficult for me to address that at this moment because I don’t want to say something when it’s not my call.
“When the time comes, if I’m asked my opinion, I’ll give it.
“But for Leigh it should remain private until a decision is made.
“It depends on the timing of when the club decides to make its move. And what the manager decides to do.
“If I’m part of that decision then so be it.
“Right now it’s very short term regarding the decisions I’ll be involved in and what I need to prepare for.
“It’s purely preparing for the Livingston game then it’s on to Rangers, and we will see what happens after that.
“When the time comes to address Leigh’s situation, if I’m still in the position I am, I’ll be part of that discussion.
“But again, I don’t want to jump ahead of things and get involved in areas that might not concern me.”
Celtic have a massive Glasgow Derby game coming up and we need players who are going to do the business on the day. You have to imagine the team that starts against Livingston on Saturday will be the team that starts in the Scottish Cup a week later.
