Maturity key to Leigh Griffiths" ambitions LEIGH Griffiths is capable of playing at a higher level of football, according to Pat Fenlon. Precisely how much higher, says the Hibernian manager, depends on how well the striker continues to mature both on and off the park. Speaking the day after his top scorer was named on the shortlists for the SPFA's Player and Young Player of the Year awards, Fenlon praised Griffiths" attitude to training and willingness to learn from past mistakes. And he said he was optimistic that, given the player's natural ability, he would continue to improve with experience. "I think Leigh could play at a high level," Fenlon said. I'm not going to say that Leigh could play for this team or that team, but I think he's going to improve. He's only a young player and he's maturing, which is really important for him. He's got to mature on and off the park. There are aspects of his game that he's worked on and he needs to work on. But the one thing you can't give people is natural finishing ability and he's got that in abundance. You can add other things to his game. His link-up play, I think, this year has improved and his work-rate has improved as well. It's like most young players, you get to a point where they can stop and think they've done all the work. But Leigh wants to train every day, he's happiest when he's out on the park training, and that's a good thing because then he is improving all the time. Griffiths could find out soon how well he fits into English football as Wolves boss Dean Saunders seems set on recalling him after his long loan period at Hibs. It remains to be seen how well the 22-year-old fits into less familiar surroundings away from his home city but Fenlon has seen promising signs that he is able to cope with the pressure that comes with being a high-profile player. He can play at a higher level and I think it's really up to Leigh, and in Leigh's head, how far he can go, to be honest. He's playing at the highest level he can in this country but I think he's capable of going back down the road, if he does that, and playing at that level as well. But it's about him buying into that. He's seen this year how much he's improved with his workrate and he's got to juggle that and make sure the stuff off the pitch and on the pitch are as good as each other. Because that's where he'll be judged. If he didn't have maybe some of the problems he had off the pitch I'm sure people would be talking in a different light. It's important he learns that and he improves on and off the park. I work with him every day and I've got a decent relationship with the young lad, and he's great to work with. His attitude and his application to train is first class. He's got to eradicate the other stuff, and he knows that. We've spoken about that before, and he's trying, I'll give him that, he is trying hard. But I think that's the key to what level he wants to go to. As well as training and playing on the pitch, that's part of it. If you look at all the top players, off the pitch they're very good. Fenlon's praise of Griffiths was an implicit disagreement with Neil Lennon's contention that none of the nominees for Player of the Year would get into his Celtic side. But he also offered sympathy for Lennon's other claim, that it was "abysmal" that no Celtic player had won a nomination for that award, which is decided by players" votes. You can see Neil's point of view. They've won the league, they're in the cup final and they've had a fantastic run in Europe - and, yet there's not a Celtic player in it. So if I was managing Celtic I'd be disappointed. Fenlon hits back at John Brown PAT Fenlon has taken issue with John Brown's claim that Hibernian have downed tools in the SPL and are only concerned with next month's Scottish Cup final. The Dundee manager's remarks, made after Hibs" goalless draw with Aberdeen on Monday night, seemed aimed to ensure that Fenlon's side do their utmost to beat St Mirren tomorrow - a result that would help Dundee, who play Hearts, in their fight to escape relegation. But Fenlon said it was obvious that his own team had done all they could against Aberdeen. "I don't make a lot of it, to be honest," the Hibs manager said of Brown's remarks. I find managing one football club hard enough, but he seems to be able to manage three [Dundee, Hibs and Rangers]. I think we'll concentrate on ourselves. It's a tough enough job without having a go at people outside. The [Aberdeen] game took a lot of criticism, and some of it probably fair. But I felt we did enough to win the game. We just didn't get a break.