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Leigh Griffiths is targeting a return to first-team action at Celtic, speaking in an exclusive interview with in-house media outlet Celtic TV on Wednesday.
The striker hasn’t played a game since December after taking a break from football to focus on off the field personal problems.
In recent weeks though he’s returned to Lennoxtown to train with Neil Lennon’s squad and is hoping he can impress his manager in upcoming pre-season action this summer.
He has a tough task to convince anyone he can be the club’s main striker, but there is certainly room for him to make an impact in the first-team next season.
On the chalkboard
Griffiths has, in recent seasons, mostly performed as back-up to both Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard, who admittedly have brought Celtic’s game to new levels in attack.
The potential of the Scotland international at the Hoops can’t be understated though. We know what he can do in a Celtic shirt when given a run of games.
His 104 goals for the club are evidence of that, the first striker to achieve such a career total at the club since the days of John Hartson and Henrik Larsson.
The 2015/16 season stands as the high watermark of his time at Celtic Park, scoring an incredible 41 goals in all competitions. He may never reach those heights at the Hoops again, but as a different option to Edouard, or as someone who can stand in before or after European games, he can be a key weapon for Lennon.
Is he ready?
He certainly seems ready and eager to impress, having spent months working on personal issues.
In his interview with Celtic TV this week, he said:
Is the hunger still as strong as ever? It’s probably more so now. From where I’ve been in December to now, it’s night and day.
Hopefully when I pull that jersey back on and step onto the pitch I’ll be firing on all cylinders. It’s been a tough few months, double training sessions every day. I’m on the home straight now and not long to go before pre-season.
I’m hoping to come back a lot fitter than the previous start to the campaign. Being in the gym near enough every day gives me that platform to get fitter and when we come back on the 17th I’ll be raring to go.
Obviously caution should be taken when it comes ensuring he is ready for re-integration back into competitive action, but the signs are good and the fact he has been working so hard to force his way back into the Hoops manager’s plans is a great sign.
He’ll have a point to prove he has plenty more life him at Celtic yet and given his record for the Hoops to date, you’d be silly to write him off.
