Striker doubles efforts to satisfy Deila’s demands

LEIGH GRIFFITHS answered the critical call of his tough taskmaster by showing the staying power to secure his first league double of the season.

The Celtic striker had struck nine singles in Ladbrokes Premiership action this season, a curious statistic for such a prolific performer playing up front for the champions.

Griffiths, who netted two hat-tricks in 10 days in April, had heard manager Ronny Deila implore him not to let standards slump after he had scored a goal for the side yesterday. And Deila had another go at his top scorer for not passing to Stuart Armstrong in a more advantageous position as Celtic sought to kill off the Pittodrie team.

‘He always does (have a go), he always finds something to moan about,’ joked Griffiths. ‘He always wants more goals.

‘We wanted to kill the game off and I was maybe a wee bit selfish looking for my hat-trick but, to win 3-1, we would have taken it all day.

‘The manager wants me to keep going for the 90 minutes. After I get one, he wants me to get two and three. But if I play every game and score one goal, I will be delighted.’

Now Griffiths (right) will switch scoring focus to the European arena, where he has struck against Stjarnan, Malmo and Fenerbahce this season.

Europa League Group A leaders Molde visit Celtic Park on Thursday, a fortnight after stunning Celtic in Norway with a comfortable 3-1 victory.

Deila will be minus skipper Scott Brown with a knee injury for the game that Celtic need to win to keep them firmly in the hunt to qualify for the round of 32.

‘It will be a massive game and we need to win it to keep ourselves in the group,’ said Griffiths. ‘Molde are a good side and they broke well but we never played anywhere near our best over there.

‘If we play on Thursday as we did against Aberdeen, then we have a great chance. The team is playing with a lot of confidence just now and, hopefully, the fans can make it an intimidating atmosphere for Molde.

‘We know they are a good side but, if we play to our best, we are capable of winning the game. It was a blow that Scott Brown got an injury, but we proved on Wednesday and today we could cope.

‘Thursday is a big step up and we will miss him, he’s a great player and leader. But we’ve got Stefan (Johansen) and Nir (Bitton) in there doing great jobs. Hopefully, they can keep performing like that.’