If Leigh Griffiths ever thinks about adding to his tattoo collection, the Celtic striker might consider one expression worthy of imprinting permanently on his body is the age-old maxim: act in haste, repent at leisure. Yet it hasn’t been, because he chucked a bit of tape at an ageing Kilmarnock fan giving him stick a week past Wednesday. Slideshow: Four Celtic players who could have an opportunity after Johnston's serious injury (ReadSport) It is a period, it should not be forgotten, that began with theories that Celtic’s £3.5 million acquisition of striker Patryk Klimala could be the beginning of the end for the Scotland international at the club following a year lost to personal issues and injury problems. Griffiths, a more sensitive and perceptive soul than his reputation would suggest, is more annoyed with himself than anyone else over the fact that that split second he threw sock tape has overshadowed his best spell professionally for a year and a half; not least because he has developed a promising frontline synergy with Odsonne Edouard. To his credit, Griffiths recognises that not only what he did at Rugby Park was wrong – regardless of the provocation – but that an expression of regret was owed to the Kilmarnock supporter involved. Slideshow: The most controversial sporting signings of all time (ReadSport) “I think it got blown out of proportion. It wasn’t nice and I wouldn’t have liked that done to me, so I want to apologise to him and draw a line under it.” Griffiths isn’t getting carried away because goals have returned to his game, or that he seems to be proving a good foil for Edouard. As was demonstrated by his reaction to the question of whether, during his lost 2019, he feared he would never be able to enjoy a moment to rival his brilliant free-kick double against England in June 2017. Slideshow: Bruno Fernandes's first Man Utd training session (Manchester Evening News) “That’s the level I am trying to aspire to. Every one of Man Utd's post-Ferguson signings (FourFourTwo) Griffiths doesn’t take for granted that a Scotland call for the Euro 2020 play-off semi-final on 26 March will naturally follow. But that’s not up to me, that’s up tothemanager of Scotland and what he wants to do.” Griffiths doesn’t deny that he would welcome chatting to Steve Clarke about how he is viewing the Celtic striker’s renaissance. For his part, Clarke has said ringing round potential squad members to catch up with them is not how he operates. “He [Steve Clarke] has still not picked up the phone, but I think he was at the Kilmarnock game last week, so, hopefully, I’ve doneenough to impress him. Naisy [Steven Naismith] is back fit, [Oli] McBurnie is playing well in the English Premier League, so there’s a lot of good strikers vying for that one position.
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