LEIGH GRIFFITHS believes he is capable of heading into the Champions League qualifiers as Celtic's main striker.

Hoops boss Ronny Deila has recently acknowledged that he would like to bring another striker to the club, particularly since it would appear that John Guidetti's future lies elsewhere.

However, he also insisted he would be happy to trust Griffiths with leading the line in Europe, and the player insists he is capable of holding down such a position of responsibility - and he wants the shirt number to go with it.

"If I'm the main man to lead the Champions League qualifiers I will be delighted," said Griffiths. "The John Guidetti situation has not been resolved yet, and if he signs here, then great.

"But if not, I will be banging on that door to get the number nine jersey because that's the jersey you want as a Celtic player."

Griffiths had a candid chat with Deila, as well as John Collins earlier in the season, after he found himself on the fringes at the club.

Deila made it clear exactly where he felt the striker was falling short and since taking those pointers on board, Griffiths has been rewarded with a place in the starting line-up - and the goals have come.

Since March, Griffiths has scored 11 of his 19 goals, and his reward for such consistency has been a call-up into Gordon Strachan's Scotland squad for the friendly with Qatar and the Euro 2016 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.

"It just shows that I have been working really hard since the turn of the year and playing on a consistent basis," he said. "Ross McCormack and Jordan Rhodes will maybe feel a wee bit hard done by - they've been scoring goals down in the Championship. But from a selfish point of view, I'm delighted to be back involved.

"I said before that Celtic was my bread and butter, and I wanted to be established here before any international call-ups came. You don't get back in the Scotland team if you're not playing well and, since the turn of the year, I've hit form and scored goals."

Griffiths' next ambition is to carry on where he has left off at Celtic this season, but also to replicate that form on the international stage.

The 24-year-old has been entrusted before by Strachan when the Scotland boss put him in for the shock 1-0 win over Croatia in a World Cup qualifier two years ago, and it is now a matter of trying to establish himself at international level for the player.

"Training will be intense, but I'm looking forward to it and, if you train well and the manager picks you, then you have to be ready," he said. "Scotland normally use the same formation that we do here, so if he calls upon me I'll be ready."

Getting the starting jersey will mean wrestling off Steven Fletcher, the player whom Griffiths once spent his days looking up to.

"Yeah, I used to go and watch him - then I played with him at Wolves," he said. "He is a great lad and he has been a great player for Scotland.

"I was delighted for him when he scored his hat-trick against Gibraltar because he took a lot of stick before that saying he wasn't ready for the international stage and had not scored enough goals.

"But he showed against Gibraltar exactly why he is the main man. I texted him after that game just to say well done.

"But I'll be vying for that number nine jersey in June because it's one spot we are fighting for. Scotland have a lot of good strikers and there are four of us fighting for that one spot."

There will be a few familiar faces in the national team for Griffiths, and none more so than Celtic skipper Scott Brown.

The Edinburgh-based pair share a journey to training at Lennoxtown every day - but Griffiths will not be requesting a room share with the midfielder.

"When I first signed here it was like wakening up as a kid at Christmas driving in with Broony," he said. "He's a great guy and he's my good friend now.

"He's done it for years for club and country. He's an inspirational leader and he gives 110 per cent in every game. He wears his heart on his sleeve and if you want to look at anybody for international recognition, it should be him. But share a room? No. He's too hyper for me!"