A STAR IN THE MAKING

The 19-year-old eventually came on with ten minutes remaining and made a dream debut by coolly side-footing past Brad Friedel to secure Saints' 2-0 victory.

Griffit was signed from French club Amiens in July and was originally expected to develop with the reserves for most of the season.

But his progress has been outstanding and he has forced his way into the first-team squad with a string of goals and eye-catching performances.

Strachan said: "I thought about playing him from the start, but that would have been a wee bit unfair on him.

"I thought he might be better coming on.

"Only time will tell if he is getting a regular game, but if the lad keeps scoring and showing composure he must have a good chance.

"The goal didn't surprise me at all. In the reserves he has been the midfield player who scores most goals and shows most composure.

"He rolled the ball into the back of the net and it was a beautiful goal, probably the best goal we have seen here for a while."

Griffit is still learning English and Strachan admits that it has not been easy to explain exactly what he wants to the young Frenchman.

He said: "Probably at times he doesn't have a clue what I'm saying and we have to take him by the hand and put him in different positions.

"The problem is that he doesn't understand English that great yet, so the communication is a bit of a problem explaining what you want him to do.

"But because of his composure and his goals I thought it is worth it (playing him), because I wasn't getting anything from anywhere else."

Strachan praised Griffit's attitude since his arrival at Saints.

He added: "He's confident in his own ability but you wouldn't say he is confident off the pitch.

"That's a great thing to have, he has humility, he wants to learn and he's great to work with.

"I did believe it would take a lot longer for him to get into the reckoning. But it's all down to himself - he's the one who has forced himself in."