BOOT FOR GRIFF? EX-HOOPS HERO HAS THE ANSWER

CELTIC must consider the consequences if they give Leigh Griffiths the boot next month.

The 30-year-old striker has endured a wretched season along with his team-mates and could be heading for the Parkhead exit.

Griffiths is on a knife-edge at the moment and has not been told if the club will activate the remaining 12 months of his contract which is worth around the £1million mark to the frontman who claimed only his eighth goal of the campaign with his stoppage-time equaliser against Aberdeen in midweek.

The incoming manager faces a summer of upheaval and the striking department could present a major headache with Patryk Klimala already offloaded to New York Red Bulls, Odsonne Edouard on the brink of leaving and Albian Ajeti, the £5million arrival from West Ham in June last year, looking far from convincing.

BACK SEAT…Leigh Griffiths watches the action from the sidelines, the story of his season.

Former Hoops hero Davie Provan, writing in his column in the Scottish Sun on Sunday, said: “Celts should think twice before binning Leigh Griffiths, even if the striker scarcely deserves another chance.

“But with Patryk Klimala gone and Odsonne Edouard in the departure lounge, they are well short up front.

“Dominic McKay should offer Griffiths a reduced, incentive-based contract.

“Despite the striker’s contempt for his manager last summer, he’s still the best finisher in the league.

“Either way, McKay has to front up with supporters pronto. Not least because they deserve a heads up on the next manager.

HEAD BHOY…Leigh Griffiths nods in the late leveller against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

“The communications black-out of recent months is not going to shift season tickets.

“If Eddie Howe is a done deal, McKay has to get him to Glasgow yesterday. You can’t manage Celtic remotely from England’s south coast.

“If the former Bournemouth boss is the man, he should be here getting a feel for the club and the city. He needs to   eyeball the players.

“Celtic can’t afford to repeat the mistakes of last summer when they held some who didn’t want to be there.”

Griffiths cost former gaffer Neil Lennon £1.2million when he arrived in January 2017 from Wolves and became a fans’ favourite.

However, due to a series of circumstances not the least personal health issues, he has failed to spark in the past three years.