With a lengthy back catalogue of indiscretions, Leigh Griffiths and common sense do not appear the most likely of bedfellows. And yet, as the 24-year-old forward reflected this week upon a season which yielded personal success on an unprecedented level with 40 goals and a clutch of individual awards – the latest being the Ladbrokes Player of the year – he showed a offered a hefty sense of pragmatism.

Easing any pressure that might fall onto his shoulders for the start of the new term, Griffiths insisted that topping this campaign, on bare statistics alone, will be a hard call. However, there are times when quality counts over quantity and the striker’s sights this year will lie on firmly establishing himself in the forward line of the national squad as Gordon Strachan’s side look to sustain a decent challenge when the World Cup qualifiers begin in September.

So far he has not been able to elevate himself into that company and with just seven full caps and no goals at international level, the step up from domestic football appears a significant one. In that respect, Griffiths was correct to assume that playing UEFA Champions League football for his club will hone his ability to showcase the same kind of goalscoring form for country that he has done with Celtic.

“The next step for me is to play in the Champions League and to become a regular for the national team. I need to score at that level and I can’t do that if I’m not there,” he said. “Obviously, I must keep playing well and scoring in big games for Celtic if I’m going to be involved with Scotland. If I can score in the Champions League then I can put my name forward to lead the line for Scotland as well.”

The last time Scotland were involved in a World Cup, tweeting was a word used to describe morning birdsong, the internet was still the preserve of the few and Griffiths was still in the infants department at primary school. The longer the years go by without forcing an invite, the harder it is to qualify but the forthcoming round of qualifiers, on paper at least, perhaps doesn’t carry the same daunting threat that previous groups have held.

Strachan spoke this week of his need for players of courage and conviction. Griffiths was certainly happy to talk a good game as he surveyed the prospect of Group F with games looming against England, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia and Lithuania awaiting.

“Yeah, it has been a long time since Scotland has been in a major tournament,” he said. “If a couple of results had gone the other way, we’d have been going to France. But we’ve got a good qualifying group to go into. It’ll be tough, we have Slovakia in the group and they just beat Germany 3-1.

“England are massive favourites to win the group but we’re more than a match for them. On our day we can beat anybody. It will be interesting to see what happens, we’re looking to get off to a good start.”

And playing Cinderella as everyone else gets to go the ball this summer has whet his appetite to be part of a squad that takes the country back into that elite company.

“When you see the home nations getting their squads together and flying out to France, it hits home how disappointing it is for us not be there,” he reflected. “But the qualifying campaign gets underway in September and hopefully we get off to a great start and put ourselves in a good position.”

Of a more pressing nature will be the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. The Celtic players return for pre-season on June 20th, with their first qualifier coming on either the 12th or 13th of July. The three hurdles necessary to clear before the path opens to Europe’s premier tournament effectively sets the tone for the club’s season and while there is a financial imperative on getting there after failing in the previous two campaigns, it is the prestige of playing in that environment which drives Griffiths.

“You don’t really make it as a player unless you’ve played in the Champions League,” said the striker. “The closest I’ve been is the Malmo game last year where we were very, very close. Hopefully this time we can go one stage further and manage to get into that group stage. You’ve heard players from teams like Barcelona and AC Milan who have played in the Champions League for many years saying there’s stadium that sticks out for atmosphere and that’s here. I want to experience that first hand as a player.”

Sounds words indeed.