As the final whistle blew at Easter Road yesterday on that thrilling and at times breathless 2-2 draw between Hibs and Celtic, a game in which the away side extended their magnificent run of domestic games unbeaten by the width of Mikael Lustig’s size 10, there was one big Hibs fan who wouldn’t have left Leith dancing with joy at his team’s unlikely comeback. And that was Leigh Griffiths.

The Scotland striker had once again spent a frustrating 90 minutes on the freezing cold bench watching his Celtic team-mates battling it out on the park. It was the third time in eight days Leigh hadn’t played a single minute for a team with ambitions on several fronts.

He is currently now third choice for that lone striking berth at Celtic and this last week will trouble him greatly. 

Read more: Hibernian 2, Celtic 2: Lustig to the rescue as invincible run lives on

A few months back, Brendan Rodgers highlighted the difficulties of the equation where you have three front men chasing one place, or, two looking to be involved while one is reduced to a spectator. I’ll give the Celtic manager one thing; he was right, and it is Griffiths who is feeling the one left out.

Now aged 27, and coming into the peak period in his career, he knows he needs to be playing every week. But is he going to get that at Celtic? That is a question I would be asking myself if I were in his shoes. 

Deep down, he will have realised that if Moussa Dembele is fully fit, then he is the No.1 striker for Brendan Rodgers in the big games domestically, and in Europe.

He is the man Rodgers will put his trust in. What has come from the blind side for Griffiths, is the emergence of young Odsonne Edouard into the fray. Cover for the cover was how that one was explained away when he arrived on-loan from PSG during the last hours of the August transfer window.

Instead, he has been elevated up the order, to use the cricketing parlance, with Leigh slipping alarmingly down the pecking order. This all leaves Griffiths with a bit of a dilemma. At Celtic, he is at not only at one of the biggest clubs in Britain, but in Europe.

Read more: 'Contest between Scott Brown and John McGinn? 'There was no contest', says Brendan Rodgers

That isn’t even a point for argument, and racking up domestic league titles and cups, along with playing in the Champions League every year. It is enough to keep any player satisfied and highly motivated. You want to win honours and to play at the highest level you can. But the key word here is ‘playing’. And Griffiths isn’t. 

I don’t know Leigh personally, but he doesn’t strike me as the type of lad who would be happy to sit on the bench and pick up his money every week unlike many others. He is at his happiest out on the pitch and putting the ball in the back of the net. He has done it everywhere he has been, consistently, and in volume. It’s what he was born to do. He thrives on being the main man, of being centre stage, in focus and being loved. 

And all of that leads me to question his long term future at Celtic, because from the outside looking in, I don’t think under the current conditions and manager he will ever get that. He is always going to be in the shadow of Dembele. Personally, I believe Griffiths is a better player. That will divide opinion among the Celtic support – and other avid readers - but I genuinely do believe he is.

Dembele has of course the potential to be better, and at 21, is six years younger than his striking rival. But I would have Leigh in my team every week.

Read more: Hibernian 2, Celtic 2: Lustig to the rescue as invincible run lives on

There is no question that clubs south of the border will be keeping close tabs on Leigh’s current situation at Celtic. His two goals against England back in June would have seen him penned, rather than pencilled, in to the notebooks of a few Premiership and Championship notebooks. 

I look at clubs like Brighton and Huddersfield, even Everton or Newcastle, and think he would go straight into their team. 

Yes, none of them in my opinion are bigger than Celtic, or have the platform to play at the level currently enjoyed by Celtic. But he would play most weeks in a superior  league.

In addition, you need to take into account that at 27 years-old and with four kids, he may see the next year or two as his last opportunity to get a big money move and secure his and his family’s future financially.

I’m certain that if he remains third-choice striker at Celtic going into the January window that teams in the English Premiership will test just how much Celtic want to keep him. Bids will come in and he could be moving out. 

AND ANOTHER THING

The last week has been an absolute car crash for Rangers off the pitch. Honestly, it has been one thing after another. The long and ultimately futile chase of Derek McInnes has left the punters at Rangers screaming for answers from the powers that be at the club. 

It has been an embarrassment for Dave King in that he not only was knocked back by McInnes, but, in the cringeworthy statement that followed. 

It showed a distinct lack of class. But one man at Rangers who has shown both tact and decorum has been Graeme Murty. He has acted with dignity and spoken superbly all through this messy saga, and, despite having no previous Rangers connection, has now become a very popular figure amongst the fans. 

He has kept his head when others around him have lost it. Maybe Murty Mania might not just be for Christmas after all.