Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers hailed Leigh Griffiths last night – but insisted that he does not need to be reminded of the striker’s quality.
The Scotland forward came off the bench to inspire a second-half comeback at Firhill as Moussa Dembele remained on the sidelines for the second successive week.
And while Rodgers was delighted with the changes that led to the turnaround in Celtic’s fortunes he maintained that it doesn’t change his thinking in terms of team selection – and he will look to bring in another striker should Dembele quit the club in the next week.
Read more: Partick Thistle 1 Celtic 2; Leigh Griffiths nets the winner as Celtic come from behind at Firhill
“I don’t think anyone needs reminding,” said Rodgers.
“It is a big issue with you guys. We need know what we have and we know what Leigh can do.
“If Moussa comes on we know what he can do. I thought young Odsonne [Edouard] was excellent.
“If Moussa goes we need to bring in another one. Simple.
“Players need competition and we need to be competitive.
“I thought Leigh came on and did great for us.
“He had an ankle issue at the weekend, he trained a couple of days but wasn’t fully matchfit. Him coming on you know he is a threat for a goal and that’s what you want from your subs to come on and make an impact.”
The Celtic manager also maintained that the current situation with Dembele has not been effected by any lack of professionalism on the part of the player.
Rodgers and Chris Davies have both suggested that the striker’s focus has been blurred by the speculation around his future with Everton, Crystal Palace and Brighton all linked with making a move for him in recent weeks.
Read more: Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald laments Celtic loss
“You write what you need to write,” said Rodgers. “I think you have asked about Moussa enough since January.
“If you ask about him you need to ask about Jozo [Simunovic] and the other players.
“I think I have done okay in picking the best team to win since I came here. Try to have a little bit of respect for the team I pick.
“We have only lost one of our last 76 [domestic] games. If Moussa is in our squad then great, if he is not we will see by the end of January.
“His behaviour is fine, there is no issue and no dramas. We are here to win games and I will pick the team I think is best to do that.”
On the pitch, Rodgers was enthused by the second half period at Firhill and insisted that he had no issue with the penalty conceded by Mikael Lustig.
“We made a couple of mistakes in the first half in our build-up play, I thought we were deserving of a goal but it didn’t come,” he said.
“And then we made a mistake for the penalty, it was a clear penalty. Then your team is asked a question, so i thank the players as I had to put risk into the game by changing the system, taking off a defender and going more attacking.
“I thought second half the players really took to that and were absolutely fantastic. Scored two goals and could have had more. It was a very pleasing win for us.
“On the back of a good win at the weekend I thought we looked bright and sharp. Overall I was very pleased with the intensity of the game, I thought some of football was exceptional. It was a very pleasing win.”
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