Griffiths hopeful of getting among goals

CELTIC 2 HAMILTON 0

Leigh Griffiths is looking forward to getting back on the Celtic goal trail after coming off the bench against Hamilton on Saturday.

The Hoops striker has struggled with calf injuries this season.

The 26-year-old got the last 20 minutes at Parkhead against Accies, replacing Moussa Dembele after the French striker scored both goals in a comfortable 2-0 Ladbrokes Premiership win.

It was Griffiths’ second substitute appearance since starting in the 2-0 win over Ross County on December 28, but he could not to add to his 13-goal tally this season despite some promising attacks.

However, he is confident the goals will come with more game time.

He told Celtic TV: “Hopefully in the coming weeks I will get more and more game time and hopefully I am back amongst the goals.”

Celtic extended their unbeaten domestic run since the start of the season to 32 games and remain 24 points clear of second-placed Aberdeen

Manager Brendan Rodgers was pleased to see Griffiths back to bolster Celtic’s goal threat, but was just as happy with the way his side set about the less glamorous aspects of the game.

He said: “It is nearly 20 years to the day that I qualified as a young coach and got my first badge and over those 20 years I have watched videos, read, analysed games, hundreds of games, and what I have learned in that period is that the greatest principle you can have in football is denying the opponent space.

“The players counter-pressed the game and didn’t allow any moment for Hamilton to make any real sequence of passes – and they have some real technical players – so they deserve a huge amount of credit in terms of how hard they are working.”

Accies remain bottom of the league, where they found themselves for the first time this season on Friday night after Inverness beat Rangers 2-1 in the Highlands.

Boss Martin Canning now turns his attention to the visit of in-form Aberdeen tomorrow night.

Leigh Griffiths with manager Brendan Rodgers.