I’ve been watching Griff score since he’s been about 5. He loves hitting back of the net..
I hope he has an off night against us SAYS PAUL HANLON
to be asy him It’s e e of awar whol e well it’s a but hard er to lot him stop
Paul Hanlon has been trying to stop Leigh Griffiths scoring goals since he was knee high to a grasshopper.
The Hibs defender believes nothing has changed since his f irst meeting with Celtic’s lethal scoring machine as six-year- olds on playing fields in Edinburgh.
A lifetime of battle wi l l recommence at Parkhead tomorrow night as the Easter Road side attempt to bring their three-game losing streak to an end.
Hanlon insists it’s one thing knowing his old nemesis will be the clear and present danger and another thing entirely trying to prevent him finding the back of the net.
The 30-year-old said: “I have played against Leigh since we were about five or six years old, boys club footballers, so I know Leigh quite well.
“He has an unbelievable left foot, a wand.
“It is easy to be well aware of that and a lot harder to stop it.
“I will be well aware of him during the game and try to close him down as quickly as possible.ibl HeH hhas always been exactly the same player with that wand of a left foot and being able to score goals from nothing.
“He’s just desperate to score goals all the time and that has never changed.
“Leigh did well at Hibs when we got the ball to him.
“When you play for a club like Celtic and get more chances then you can see the amount of goals he has scored.
“I am glad to see him back but hope he is quiet against us.”
Hanlon isn’t surprised to see a host of Celtic strikers try and fail as pretenders to the top marksman’s throne.
He’s convinced the reemergence in the first team of
Griffiths in recent weeks has coincided with a relative improvement in the fortunes of the champions.
Hanlon said: “I think it just comes from scoring goals.
“The team can rely on him to score goals. That is what he has done throughout his career, it is what he wants to do and it will be our job to keep him quiet.
“He has been an outstanding striker and was a loss to Celtic when he was out.
“He has been back in the team since the end of the year and they have been a lot better for it. He is definitely one to watch.”
Last weekend’s 3- 0 loss at home to Livingston was as much of a shock as it was a setback for
a Hibs side looking to prevent it being four consecutive defeats.
Hanlon admits the dip in form has undone what has been an impressive f irst half of the campaign where they had been flirting with second spot.
He said: “We put ourselves in a great position by getting up to second in the league.
“When we were there we could have been stronger.
“We have dropped points in the last few games so it could be better but it is a strong position.
“We know we can do better and if we focus on that in the second half of the season I am sure we will be successful.”
Lewis Stevenson wi l l be mak ing h is 500th Hibs appearance tomorrow and Hanlon has been by his side for over 300 of those games .
He’s adamant there’s plenty of life in the 33-year- old’s legs and has backed his team-mate to earn a contract extension beyond this summer.
Hanlon said: “He’s definitely got it in him, I’m sure the club would be interested in giving him a new contract.
“Lewis has plenty left in his legs to be able to perform for another few years.
“He will be helping the young boys kick on as well, which he always does.
“He’s a great character to have in the squad and a great role model for these young players.
It just shows you what a great guy he is, so sel f less in everything he does. He deserves all the plaudits if he gets to that 500 mark.”
The Easter Road duo joined forces in June 2019 to set up the Hanlon/ St e venson Foundat ion to help youngsters and less privileged children in the Edinburgh area.
The defender his high ambitions for the charity despite struggles in the pandemic.
He said: “We had some money spare from the testimonials and had ideas about how we wanted it to be used and how we could use it to help young people specifically.
“Alongside our testimonial teams we managed to put the Foundation together.
“It was a good first year and we spent £ 50,000 on different projects and initiatives for young kids. It’s taken a bit of a back seat with Covid in terms of fundraising but we will try to build t hat ba ck up again when the time is right.”