Celtic manager Neil Lennon reveals reason why Leigh Griffiths didn’t make League Cup final squad

Leigh Griffiths
Leigh Griffiths

Celtic pipped Rangers to the Scottish League Cup on Sunday, with Christopher Jullien’s second-half goal securing the victory for the Hoops at Hampden Park.

A knock prevented Neil Lennon’s men from starting with French striker Odsonne Edouard, with winger Lewis Morgan picked to lead the line instead.

Many were surprised at the decision, as the fit Leigh Griffiths didn’t even make the bench.

Unsurprisingly, Celtic weren’t impressive in the final third, with Jullien’s effort their only shot on target all day.

Edouard came off the bench for the final stages of the game, and Lennon has revealed his inclusion in the squad led to Griffiths’ absence.

“We were going to start Odsonne if he had been fit and Leigh would have been on the bench,” the Celtic boss told The Scottish Sun today.

“But the fact Odsonne couldn’t start we decided to go with Morgan to start and bring Odsonne on.

“So we couldn’t get Leigh on the bench, it was nothing to do with fitness levels or anything like that.”

Clearly, Griffiths is yet to convince Lennon and reach the required standards after his recent challenges, and Celtic can’t afford to fail to land a quality striker next month.

They got away with their lack of quality depth in the striking department against Rangers but could pay heavily for it going forward.

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