MAYBE it's a trifle early, but Leigh Griffiths will be cast in the role of pantomime villain when he steps on to the William Hill Scottish Cup stage at Tynecastle tomorrow.

The little striker's relationship with the Edinburgh club's support will make sure of that.

Griffiths has never hidden his allegiance to the rival team on the other side of the city, though he denies that he was tempted to rejoin them in the summer when opportunities to break into Ronny Deila's starting XI at Celtic appeared to be reducing by the week.

A well-documented incident in an Edinburgh pub before a derby match he was going to attend with his mates earlier this year is still the subject of investigation by the police and the SFA.

But tomorrow Griffiths wants to be on the pitch, not the stands or even the dugout.

That's where he believes he can make headlines for the right reasons.

The fact it would be against Hearts is merely a bonus, though he appreciates Celtic will be facing a side riding on a high as they storm back towards the Premiership.

Griffiths said: "I still live in Edinburgh and, as a Hibs supporter, I'm aware Hearts are flying at the moment and have opened up a nine-point lead over Rangers at the top of the Championship.

"I watched them on TV last Saturday and they bossed the game. They will be looking to try to do that again against the other half of the Old Firm.

"But this is the type of game you want to play in.

"It's a cup tie, a full house, with plenty of noise, plenty of passion, lots of tackles."

CELTIC have already knocked the Jambos out of the League Cup back in September at Parkhead.

Strikes from John Guidetti and Kris Commons plus an Adam Eckersley own goal gave the Hoops a 3-0 win, although Osman Sow missed a penalty for the visitors.

But that was the last time Robbie Neilson's side tasted defeat and Griffiths continued: "Hearts will go into this cup tie full of confidence after beating Rangers.

"But we have already put them out of one cup so far this season and we'll be looking to do that again.

"On a personal level, I have scored the last two times I've played at Tynecastle - I hope to make it three in a row.

"I will be getting stick but I don't think I'll be the only one.

"Scott Brown will be getting it, so will Anthony Stokes, and Craig Gordon might get some as well. But that's part and parcel of football."

Griffiths accepts he must react in the right way to whatever is thrown at him. But he intends to have the last laugh

"As a Hibs fan, I'm going to get stick," he said. "But the only way for me to silence the Hearts fans is by scoring and playing well.

"I know Tynecastle can be an intimidating ground and the place will be rocking.

"Hearts will make it very difficult for us, just as they did at did Celtic Park earlier in the season in the League Cup.

"If they had taken some of their chances in that match, then the final result might have been different.

"But we are going there with the intention of putting our name into the draw for the fifth round." Despite losing to Salzburg on Thursday night, Griffiths has no worries that the Hoops will travel suffering from any kind of hangover.

The fact they have qualified for the last 32 - Astra's defeat of Dinamo Zagreb clinched that for them - has more than made up for the disappointment of losing another home match in Europe.

TAKING the positives from their 3-1 loss to the classy Austrians, Griffiths said: "I think we showed in the second half that we can play and can mix it with the best.

"Salzburg are one of the best teams in the Europa League. They pressed us really well.

"But after the break we limited them to very few chances and I was unlucky not to score with a header.

"Although their goalkeeper made a good save, I should have done better.

"I was disappointed because I meant to go back across him because all his momentum was on his left foot.

"Maybe if I had just headed the ball downwards it would have gone in."

Griffiths was delighted just to be on the park to have the chance to get his head on to Emilio Izaguirre's cross.

His inclusion from the start was a surprise, given he'd not kicked off a Celtic game since August 23 and did not feature even on the substitutes' bench last weekend.

"The manager asked me to do a job against Red Bull and I did it," reflected the man who has not yet managed to secure a regular starting spot since joining the Hoops from Wolves in January.

"Now I'll need to wait and see what team he selects to take on Hearts in the cup.

"Hopefully, I will be in contention. I have been working hard in training and champing at the bit to get a start.

"Thursday was my first start since August so I just have to hope that there will be a lot more to come.

"Guidetti has come in and scored a lot of goals.

"It was unfortunate that he wasn't eligible to play in the Europa League group matches, but that gave a chance to me and Stefan Scepovic.

"Thankfully, it was me who was picked on Thursday."

Swedish sensation Guidetti will be back in his usual place leading the line tomorrow. But Griffiths reckons there is room for both of them in the side.

"John is someone I'd like to play alongside," he said. "You don't spend that amount of time with Manchester City if you're not a good player.

"We are trying to tie him down to a permanent contract and, if we can do that, it would be great for the club."

GRIFFITHS also wants to be atd Celtic for a long time and dismissed any suggestion that he might need to look elsewhere for regular games.

A return to Hibs on loan was mooted as the transfer window prepared to close in August.

But although that would have meant even more games for him against Hearts, he was not interested.

"I have a job to do here," he insisted. "I want to be here at Celtic and, until someone tells me otherwise, I'll be travelling in every day to train and play.

"I love being at this club - and there is nowhere else that I would rather be."