Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton savages Leigh Griffiths despite striker scoring in Sparta Prague loss

Chris Sutton heavily criticised Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths about his attitude in the wake of the club’s Europa League defeat to Sparta Prague – despite the Scottish international scoring in the game.

Leigh Griffiths grabs the ball to return to centre after firing Celtic back into their Europa League clash with Sparta Prague. Picture: SNS

The former Parkhead favourite lambasted the 30-year-old – who has struggled with mental health issues in recent seasons – for failing to get himself properly fit for this season.

Griffiths climbed off the bench to net Celtic’s only goal in their humiliating 4-1 home Europa League loss to Sparta Prague on Thursday evening.

His introduction briefly threatened to spark a comeback from the home side before Lukáš Juliš completed his hat-trick to settle the contest. Substitute Ladislav Krejčí then added a fourth in injury-time.

Speaking on BT Sport’s live coverage after full-time, Sutton criticised the player for not being fit enough to start matches for the club and his former team-mate, manager Neil Lennon.

He said: “I am a huge, huge fan of Leigh Griffiths as a player. I am not a huge fan of his attitude.

“He showed what he can do. He is a brilliant, brilliant finisher. But he is overweight, out-of-shape and he can’t play for 60 minutes, let alone 90 minutes.

Asked if he could start for Celtic, Sutton responded: “Are you serious? Look at the shape of him! He’s a professional footballer. He shouldn’t be paid to come off the bench for a little cameo for half an hour.

“He’s a brilliant player, I rate him highly, but he needs to give himself fit. He’s let his team-mates and his manager down with his attitude.

“Can you see him starting, the shape he’s in?”

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