HE may have landed the starring role as the "Elf on the Shelf" in their Christmas advert this festive season, but Leigh Griffiths has only played a bit part for Celtic on the park this term.
The striker has, despite scoring 40 goals and picking up multiple Player of the Year awards in the 2015/16 campaign, had to content himself with being understudy to Moussa Dembele in recent months.
Scott Brown, who commutes from Edinburgh to training at Lennoxtown with his team mate every day, knows as well as anyone how much being a member of the supporting cast has affected Griffiths.
The Celtic captain has no concerns about the forward, who started and scored in the 4-1 win over Partick Thistle at Firhill on Friday night, getting downhearted about an unexpected turn of events.
He has no doubts the 26-year-old, who took his tally for the season to 10 with his strike last week, has a significant contribution to make to their bid to win a sixth consecutive Ladbrokes Premiership title in the coming months.
Brendan Rodgers's side will play their fourth game in December when they take on Hamilton at Parkhead in the league this evening and they then have another five to get through before the end of 2016.
Brown feels confident that Griffiths, and others who have not featured on a regular basis, will get ample opportunities to stake a claim for regular inclusion in the coming weeks.
“I think December is going to be interesting for everyone," he said. "There will be a lot of chops and changes in the squad and the team as well. Everyone will get a chance.
“Leigh scores goals. It was good for him to get back in scoring goals and setting them up on Friday. It shows he has got a lot more to his game to offer and he is going to push Moussa all the way.
“He is mentally very tough. He goes and works hard and you know that if he is not going to be first choice every week he is going to try and prove everything to the gaffer that he is first choice.
"The Partick Thistle match showed you his qualities – he runs the channels, he runs in behind and he lengthens the game for us."
Brown added: "He has been fine. He has been no bother whatsoever. He has been working hard in training and in the gym. He will be getting the benefits of that. He will be fully fresh for this run of games coming up.
“He has done it at every club he has gone to. He scores goals, he is a handful for any centre half. Now he is pushing Moussa all the way.”
Understandably and diplomatically, Brown declined to say which striker he would play up front or state whether he believed Dembele and Griffiths could play alongside each other.
He feels, though, that having such potent options in attack will only be beneficial for the Scottish champions in the months ahead as they try to land the fourth domestic treble in their history.
“Leigh is a top player and so is Moussa," he said. "You never know, they might get a chance to play with each other in the games they have coming up. We will just need to see what happens. If they don’t I am sure whoever plays will be fantastic.
"Last season we struggled to score goals and then Leigh produced something from nothing. It is great to have that whether he is playing or is coming off the bench and doing that. He has made sure that it is hard for the gaffer to make a decision this week that’s for sure.”
Meanwhile, John Kennedy, the Celtic coach has revealed he is hopeful that both James Forrest and Scott Sinclair will be fit for the Premiership match against Rangers at Ibrox on Hogmanay.
Sinclair suffered a hamstring injury against Barcelona last month while Forrest also pulled his hamstring against Manchester City last week.
“James will miss the games against Hamilton and Dundee and we’ll assess him from there," said Kennedy. “It’s minor, a slight hamstring injury, but nothing too serious.
“Sinclair is still in rehab and, maybe, we’ll see him at training at some point next week. He’s still early rehab, so with a little bit to go.
“He is a player who does not pick up a lot of injuries and that’s a good thing because it means he’s strong and robust, so we’ll see where he is at next week. We won’t risk him, that’s for sure.
However, Kennedy stressed it will be January before Kieran Tierney, who took part in light training at Lennoxtown yesterday, will be back. “He was out jogging, but it was minor," he said.
Asked if he’d have a chance for the Rangers game, Kennedy said: “I’d doubt it. He’s had surgery and there is a programme there for him to work to, so I’d expect to see him more in January."
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