Leigh Griffiths, the Celtic striker, has targeted a clean sweep over Rangers this season in the Ladbrokes Premiership – and has suggested that there might be only three games against the Ibrox side.
There was a hint of mischief about the forward when he said “next season we will try to go for the clean sweep by trying to get at least three victories,” a reference, perhaps, to the end-of-season split which means that not all teams play one another four times.
The Ibrox club’s presence in the top flight this term guarantees that the Old Firm derby is a regular fixture on the calendar again and Griffiths has embraced the challenge of maintaining Celtic’s status as top dog in the city.
Read more: Leigh Griffiths needs no introduction as he meets and greets Brendan Rodgers
Asked if there was a score to settle after Rangers beat Celtic on a penalty shoot-out after the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-
final in April, Griffiths said: “No,
I think the score is 1-1. We played one of our worst games of the season and drew over 120 minutes. If we had taken our chances we would have been through to a Scottish Cup final. Penalties are a lottery.”
And while the arrival of Brendan Rodgers has been credited with bolstering season ticket sales this summer at Celtic Park as numbers appear to be significantly higher than they were at the same time in recent previous seasons, Griffiths believes that Rangers in the top flight has also bolstered the box office appeal for the club and the Scottish game in general.
“It is not just the new managerial appointment,” he said. “With Rangers back in the league as well that has boosted things. It will be good to have the Old Firm derbies back next year and everybody will be looking forward to that as well.”
Meanwhile, as Griffiths collected his Ladbrokes Player of the Year award yesterday morning at Celtic Park, he admitted that bettering a campaign in which he has scored 40 goals for the club this season would be almost impossible – although it won’t stop him aiming for 50 this term.
Read more: Celtic's Leigh Griffiths crowned Ladbrokes Player of the Season
The striker had been named the Player of the Year by the PFA, the Scottish Football Writers’ and by his own club before claiming yesterday’s award from the league’s sponsor. However, he has admitted that it is a daunting task to better the stats that he recorded this season.
“I don’t think you can [better it] unless you score 50,” he said.
“I said before I just want to get a consistent run in the team under the new manager and if I get that then I am confident of scoring goals. It will be difficult to replicate last season but I will be trying my hardest to do it.
“How many times did Henrik Larsson score over 40 in one season? Larsson is one of the greatest ever players to play for Celtic. I am thankful than I managed to hit 40 goals last season but my realistic target next season will be 20.
“If I get a consistent run in the team then start scoring goals, if I hit 20 I will be happy. Anything above 20 will be a bonus. It will be nice to get a consistent run in the team and help the team achieve good things.”
The striker, though, believes that Rodgers’ reputation for bettering players under his tutelage will take his game to another level. And he has maintained that he will not relinquish his current status as the top player in the country lightly.
Read more: Leigh Griffiths admits he still fears Celtic axe despite prolific strike rate
Joey Barton, the new Rangers midfielder, claimed last week that he was here to be the best player in Scottish football, but Griffiths expects to get better under the new Celtic manager.
“I have managed to get the clean sweep which just shows what a good season I’ve had,” he said. “It will be hard to top it next season but I will be trying to keep every award in the house.
“This manager will come in and he will know things about me and he will have things that he wants to change about me and improve as a player and the only way to do that is by working hard on the training field. We will sit down and have a decent chat on the training ground when pre-season starts and discuss how he wants me to play and how he wants me to adapt to his formations.”
Steven Gerrard was the first name to be linked with a reunion with Rodgers, and it is inevitable that there will be a host of names mentioned in connection with the club this summer before the transfer window closes. Certainly, the calibre of player linked with the club is something that has appealed to Griffiths.
“Big name players are obviously going to be linked with their old manager,” said Griffiths.
“There’s no doubt if we managed to get Gerrard it would be a massive coup, not just for us but for Scottish football as well. It will be interesting to see who the manager brings in and how he wants to play.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel