Griffiths says senior stars need to step it up

Falkirk forward Leigh Griffiths says he is ready to fire the Bairns to promotion from the third tier of Scottish football after grabbing his first goal and assist for the club in the 3-1 win against East Fife at the weekend, but only if the other senior stars step up.
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Speaking to the Herald after the match, the 22-time Scotland cap called on the experience in the dressing room to ensure standards don’t slip in the hunt for promotion to the cinch Championship.

"With my own experience, and the other guys in the dressing room who have that knowledge over the years, we have a real chance,” he said.“We are staying in that race for the play-offs and that is all that matters.

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“Everyone has been brilliant so far and we all have the same goal.

Leigh Griffiths celebrates scoring (Picture: Ian Sneddon)Leigh Griffiths celebrates scoring (Picture: Ian Sneddon)
Leigh Griffiths celebrates scoring (Picture: Ian Sneddon)

Falkirk need to get back into the Championship and that is what I want to help the club do while I am here.

“What we need to do is make sure we play better than we did on Saturday.”

On the match itself, the hitman admitted the performance wasn’t up to scratch.

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He said: “It was annoying because, in the first half, we scored and were in total control but a lapse in concentration in the middle of the park cost us.

“They go up and score what was, to be fair, a great goal but we should be stopping it at source.”

He added: “The second half was really scrappy but we weren’t clinical enough. Yes, we won 3-1 but we left it way too late.

“It was a massive boost for us, though, to win it the way we did.”

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With 89 minutes on the clock, and it looking like the Bairns were going to have to settle for a point at home for the second time in a week, Griffiths stepped up to take a corner and put in a wicked delivery for Paul Watson’s winning goal.

The striker then scored from the spot to seal the win.

"There’s a reason I was on set-plays at Celtic because I can put in a delivery like that,” Griffiths bullishly explained.

“No disrespect to Charlie (Telfer) or Craig (McGuffie) but I just said to them ‘let me whip one in’ and thankfully Paul Watson has shown real aggression to make the ball his and it was a great header.”

On the penalty: “It was soft to be fair.

"I was looking for it and if it was given the other way, I would have been very, very angry,” he joked.

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