Leigh Griffiths has insisted that he wishes to become a Celtic legend in his own right – rather than being compared to one.

The Hoops forward can become the first Parkhead player since Henrik Larsson in season ’03-04 to score 40 goals in one season if he bags two goals from the remaining four league games.

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Speaking as he was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award, Griffiths revealed that while he is flattered to be mentioned in the same sentence as the talismanic Larsson, he wishes to achieve iconic status as a Celtic player without the weight of comparisons.

“I have spent the last few months aiming to get to the 40-goal mark and I think it is well within my reach,” said Griffiths. “Of course it would be amazing to do something that Henrik Larsson achieved.

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“But I want to be remembered for what I done here myself. I don’t want to be compared to anyone – I want to make a name for myself, for the goals I scored and what I contributed to the club.

“Everyone knows about Larsson. He was an amazing football player, a true legend and if I was to achieve less than half of what he did in the game it would be unbelievable. But I can only think about myself and giving it my best shot.

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“I have had a good season – but the mark of great players isn’t that you do it over one season, it is that you do it consistently.

“That is where it is hard – doing it again and again, season after season. But that is what I want to do. I want to get myself into this position every season.”

And Griffiths has admitted that getting to this stage of his career when he cuts a far more balanced and mature persona has taken a significant change of tact from him.

It is not just the off-field aspect of his life that he changed, albeit that was significant, but what he has done in terms of training and preparatory work in training.

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“I changed so much,” he said. “But I did it because I had to.

“The gaffer made it clear to me that if I wanted to play then there were certain things I had to do, so I screwed the head, knuckled down and done them.

“I try hard not to eat junk. I eat loads of meat and protein and I did that to put on muscle, to be lean and to build strength.

“My aim, as it was all of the lads at the start of the season, was to get down below 10% body fat and I done that. It took loads of hard work but I feel the best I have ever felt physically and mentally.”

The finish line is in sight now and Griffiths has insisted that he doesn’t care if Celtic win the league by default on Saturday night if Aberdeen stumble at Pittodrie or whether they have to wait.

In any case, he will relish Saturday’s lunchtime trip to Tynecastle.

“I always like playing at Tynecastle,” he smiled. “It has some good memories for me and going there and getting a result is first and foremost what our priority is.

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“I know that I will always get dogs abuse for the 90 minutes at Tynecastle but it doesn’t bother me – I quite enjoy it! And it is a cracking ground for generating an atmosphere so these are games I always relish.

“The end is in sight for us but we want to finish strongly. If we have to wait then so be it but the crucial thing is that between now and the end of the season we put in some good performances.

“It was flat at the weekend and we are the only ones who can lift it. Hopefully we can come up with the goods now and make sure that we finish this season on a high.”

READ MORE: Henrik Larsson should be next Celtic manager, says former hoops star Stiliyan Petrov