Ange Postecoglou has warned Leigh Griffiths to make the most of his last chance at Celtic after bringing the wayward striker back in to the fold.
The Hoops hitman is in the frame to face Midtjylland in the Champions League qualifier at Parkhead after being cleared by cops over social media messages sent to a teenage girl.
Parkhead boss Postecoglou insisted it’s over to Griff to prove he has a future at the club.
He said: “I don’t think that’s a question for me. You should probably put that question to Leigh.
“I’ve given him an opportunity to contribute to our season ahead and he’s now in the building, he’s training, with the opportunity to do that. Beyond that, the rest is up to him.
“Absolutely it was a serious thing. And because it was a serious thing that’s why I left the people who are responsible for that side of things deal with it.
“My role is that I’m football manager of this club.
“I have responsibilities and a care for the people who are part of this football club. I had a team to prepare and Leigh wasn’t part of that whilst it was happening.
“But he’s now come back in and for me we move on from it.
“It’s pretty simple, and as I said to Leigh as I have said to all the players at the outset, the expectations and standards in terms of what I expect are pretty clear.
“And if people fall short of them then it doesn’t matter who it is, they’ll be dealt with.
“What that means depends on what happens. But once it’s been dealt with we move on.”
Postecoglou insisted he had to let the Police take charge of the Griffiths situation but now he’s happy to draw a line under it and the frontman is back in the frame for tonight’s crunch clash.
He said: “I didn’t want any distractions from what we were doing in the camp so Leigh had to go away and deal with the matter with the authorities.
“And whilst he wasn’t with us I didn’t give it a second thought because I didn’t have the time to do that.
“Once we got back and the authorities had dealt with the matter – and Leigh was allowed back into the group – then he becomes a player again for me.
“He’s someone who is required in the squad and he’s trained the past few days and is now available for selection.”
Meanwhile Postecoglou has admitted his frustration in the transfer market as he looks to ramp up his rebuilding mission.
The Hoops boss has added Liel Abada and Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi but neither are available for tonight, with Swedish defender Carl Starfelt is close to a done deal but has yet to be nailed down.
Record Sport understands Celts are set to miss out on Rennes full back Sacha Boey after talks have broke down, with several clubs in France ready to swoop.
The Hoops are also in the hunt for £4m rated club mate Brandon Soppy but are facing a fight with clubs in England and in his homeland.
Postecoglou has urged the club to keep the foot down on the pursuit of targets and said: “We probably hesitated a couple of times and could have moved faster on some things.
“That hasn’t helped us. In normal circumstances these processes are fairly straightforward. Get a player, sign him, take him on a plane, take a photo and away he goes.
“That process is now taking two to three weeks. That’s where we’ve got to move a little bit more precisely, understand there’s going to be lag time and move a bit quicker.”
Postecoglou won’t have his new faces but will have Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard this evening – although Kris Ajer has been left out of the UEFA squad list as he closes in a £13.5m move to Brentford.
And the Celtic gaffer revealed youngster Mikey Johnston and Karamoko Dembele after facing lengthy spells out after getting crocked in last week’s clash with Bristol City.
Postecoglou said: “We’ll have a few players available who we’ve been kind of holding back because they haven’t been 100 per cent right.
“Hopefully the team we put out is ready for a tough contest.
“We’ll probably be relying on the core members of the squad rather than the youngsters.
“It’s disappointing for Mikey and Karamoko. I was looking forward to working with them as they are exciting wingers, the kind of players I love having in the team.
“They have youth and time on their side so hopefully they will work hard and get back.”
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