LEIGH GRIFFITHS hasn’t been short of a challenge or two in his time at Celtic, and the striker has met the majority of them head on.

Whether it was doubts around his ability to cut it at such a big club when he first arrived four years ago, the competition within from those who covet his place in the side or stepping up and scoring at the highest level for club and country, the 27-year-old has stood tall.

In the past, his application and dedication towards being the best professional he could possibly be has been questioned, but not now. That’s why it was no surprise to hear that the forward has spent his summer holidays getting himself in tip-top shape to face up to perhaps his toughest assignments to date.

First and foremost, there is the formidable task of simply getting into the team, with Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard – now a permanent, £9million addition to the Celtic squad – to contend with.

And if he does manage to convince manager Brendan Rodgers that he is the man to spearhead the Celtic attack, he will then have to shoulder the responsibility of getting the goals that lead them to the promised land of the Champions League group stages for the third season in succession.

Little wonder then, that summer holidays were the farthest thing from his mind once the double treble had been safely bagged midway through May.

“I didn’t go anywhere this summer,” said Griffiths. “I had a wee tidy up hernia operation a couple of days after Broony’s testimonial. That put me out for a couple of weeks then after that I was back in the gym working on my fitness.

“The op was my reason for not going away with Scotland to Peru and Mexico but I spoke to Mr McLeish about it and he was fine with it. He wants me fit and ready for September to fire us in the qualifiers.

“I gave myself plenty of rest time and I spent a lot of time with my kids. I’m a home bird anyway. I like being around my family. It’s difficult enough to take them out of school and away. But I feel I’ve had a decent enough break and I’m ready for the new season.

“Pre-season is important to get your fitness and base, but it is about taking your chance when you get it. Whoever starts the season will have a dip at some stage and when that happens you need to your chance when you can get it.

“You want competition for places. It isn’t just strikers who have competition, it is everyone. [Odsonne] is a great addition to the squad. We have seen his qualities, especially in the second half of the season.”

Griffiths is confident that he will be able to hit the ground running after being held back by injury last term, particularly as the medical team have now got to the bottom of his long-standing calf problems.

“It was to do with my hip muscles blocking my full range of movement,” he said. “As soon as that got released I’ve not felt anything in my calf.

“I got deep tissue massage and I’ve worked in the gym and done prehab before and again after training. The muscles that weren’t working properly are now and I’ve been injury-free since the second week in March. Hopefully that keeps going. I am fit and ready.”

A stunning overhead kick goal from training doing the rounds on social media yesterday would attest to that, and Griffiths knows that the full Celtic team will need to be firing on all cylinders for the task that awaits them against Alashkert in early July.

“We will be prepared to go over there and do the job,” he said. “If we go through that one, then we know that Rosenborg – if they get through – will be tough.

“It seems like we always get thrown a difficult tie, whether it be the qualifying rounds or the group stage. We are always being prepared and this year is no different.”

But will they be prepared for the stifling heat of the Armenian summer after coming a cropper in similar conditions in Gibraltar two seasons ago?

“Broony will need the factor 50 on his head,” Griffiths joked. “But we will just need to adapt to the conditions. It is a two-legged affair so the first-leg is important, but we know that we are coming back to Celtic Park and the crowd behind us always gives us a boost.

“In Scotland, we aren’t used to the intense heat but it is just about the performance on the night.

“I know no-one wants remember that night [in Gibraltar] but that was up there – the conditions, the heat, the pitch. Everything went against us.

“We have been to Kazakhstan, we have been to Israel and it is difficult conditions. But as players we just need to put in performances and get the job done.”

And on the bright side, at least Griffiths is unlikely to have any Buckfast bottles thrown at him in Armenia, as he had in Belfast last year against Linfield.

“I was praying we didn’t get them!” laughed Griffiths. “I’m not sure I would have got in and out without a police escort.”