Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has set his sights on Rangers after bagging a massive goal against St Johnstone in Perth this afternoon.
The Hoops struggled for the vast majority of their Premiership encounter against the Saints. However, after being given his first appearance of the season when he came on for the final 15 minutes at McDiarmid Park, Griff glanced home a superb header to give Celtic the vital breakthrough.
Patryk Klimala added a late second as the champions showed their character late on, but it was Griffiths who will be taking all of the plaudits after a massive win.
And, speaking to Sky Sports after the game (Sky Sports Football, 04/10, 14:00), the Scotland international has admitted he’s looking to get himself closer to full fitness before the derby in two weeks.
“I’ll keep working hard. I’ve still to get my fitness up but I’m delighted to be back involved and getting minutes on the pitch again. We’ve got another couple of weeks before the big game so hopefully the fitness levels improve over that time.
“With the amount of games coming up, a lot of the boys need a break to recharge the batteries. But for me it’s about getting fit as much as I can and try to kick on from here.
“Yeah (it’s all about getting into the squad for the Rangers game). The manager’s got a difficult decision. Albian (Ajeti) has been on fire lately and it’s unfortunate he’s injured. We’ll hopefully have him back for the game. Patryk came on and scored so we’ve got four good strikers at this club looking to play in those two positions.”
Words can’t describe the importance of today
Calling this a massive moment for Griffiths is probably underestimating just how big a goal this actually was for him.
It’s not just because it’s his first competitive appearance of the season, but it’s because of the narrative before the campaign began. With Klimala and Ajeti performing well earlier this season, it looked as though Griffiths was fourth-choice going forward.
Outlining his importance to the club with a magical header this afternoon shows exactly why that isn’t the case. In fact, he may even have shot himself straight into the team in two weeks’ time if Ajeti isn’t fit and Neil Lennon decides to go with two up front.
However, it is also a time for cool heads. Ajeti, for example, has started his Celtic career impeccably well and has managed to bag five goals in his first six domestic games in Scotland. He still has the jersey as things stand when it comes to being Edouard’s partner.
There’s perhaps even an argument there to suggest that Edouard himself should be dropped for a period of time. But with Rangers coming up, that’s also most likely something we can forget for now.
Regardless, what a day for the club. Griffiths is back, and he’s ready to make his mark immediately.
In other news, we take a look at the individual player ratings from this afternoon’s 2-0 win in Perth.
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