Leigh Griffiths slams '˜disrespectful' managers over Celtic job talk

Griffiths has labelled other managers disrespectful for expressing their desire to manage Celtic after Ronny Deila. Picture: SNS

David Moyes and Malky Mackay both spoke this week in media interviews about the possibility of managing their former club one day as the Norwegian’s record continues to come under scrutiny.

Mackay was at pains to point out that he did not want to appear as if he was a “vulture touting for someone’s job” when asked about Celtic, but Moyes went on to outline his opinions on the Parkhead squad and stressed he would only manage a team that had Champions League ambitions.

Griffiths said: “It’s frustrating for us because it’s disrespectful. The gaffer has got a job here and he is doing okay, we are still sitting top of the league.

“So for other managers to say they are interested in the job when there’s a guy still in charge, it’s poor from them.

“The gaffer will just ignore it but us, as players, we get a wee bit frustrated with it.”

As Griffiths predicted, Deila shrugged off the stories.

“It doesn’t frustrate me at all,” the Celtic boss said. “I’ve been on the other side before and I’ve been on this side. I have a lot of other things to think about without that as well.

“There is a lot going on, the newspapers want to fill their pages every day. All I am thinking about is trying to get the double for Celtic and we have some exciting games ahead.”

Deila revealed he was told about the stories but had not seen them himself.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Ladbrokes Premiership clash at Kilmarnock, Deila said: “There are a lot of things going on in the media and I have to have my eyes on what I can do something with, and that is what I do with the team and make them prepared for Saturday.

“I am the Celtic manager and I want to stay the Celtic manager. I want to fight for four trophies in two years and fight for the fifth (title) in a row.

“These are big things. And whatever happens outside that, I can’t use any energy over.”

Griffiths believes some criticism of his manager is unfair with the club one point ahead of Aberdeen and with a William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers to look forward to.

“I think at times it is,” the Scotland international said. “Even though we are not playing as well as we should, we are still picking up three points. That’s the most important thing.

“It’s not about how you play football or beating teams by five or six, if you can grind out 2-1 victories, that’s what champions are made of.”

The 25-year-old added: “If someone had said to the manager in the first two seasons you would have four trophies, he would snap your hand off for it.

“We all know how difficult the treble is and it’s unfortunate we couldn’t do it, but we are still in two competitions that we can go and win.”

Explaining why Deila was popular among the players, Griffiths said: “He’s calm around the place, he doesn’t let things affect him. If we are not playing well, he will stick to his guns because he knows it will work and it just takes time.”

THE SCOTSMAN ON SOCIAL MEDIA

• Keep up to date with all our sport news on The Scotsman’s Sport page on Facebook

• Follow @ScotsmanSport for the latest sports news and comment