Leigh has insisted Celtic will score tomorrow against FC Astana — but he has warned his team-mates there must be common sense as the club seek to move into the play-off stage of the Uefa Champions League qualifiers.

Griffiths netted what is potentially a critical away goal in Kazakhstan last week. And while Celtic spent much of that opening half under the cosh from Astana, the striker reckons he has seen enough to think that the Parkhead side have the better of them.

“We will score in Glasgow — without a doubt,” he said. “It will not be easy.

 They were a good team and they made it tough for us in that first 45 
minutes, but we will have chances and we will take our chances, I am convinced of it.”

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Given the delicate balance of the game — one goal for the visitors would alter the complexion of it entirely — Griffiths is warning that the Hoops may require to play a game of patience to conjure up a winning hand.

And fans don’t have to delve too far into the history books to know what he means.

Last season the Parkhead side raced into a quick 2-0 lead against Malmo in the conclusive qualifier, only to allow the Scandinavians to get into it.
Ronny Deila’s side won the game 3-2 but were utterly undone in the return leg.

Two seasons ago Celtic felt the job was done when they returned to Celtic Park with a 1-1 draw in Maribor which took them within touching distance of the Champions League.

Those ambitions disin-tegrated when a late goal from the visitors condemned the club to the Europa League.

And Griffiths is well aware that Celtic have to take on board the lessons they have learned in the qualifiers, where mistakes are amplified given how high the stakes are.

“It is a different mentality, I think,” said the striker. “You have got to be patient. It does not make sense to go chasing the game or chasing a goal. 

“You have to keep things tight, be aware of everything going on and then when you get the chances you need to stick them away.

“I think we done that over there in the first leg. The first half was tough but we regrouped and saw it out and when we got the chance we took it.

“We know that one goal for us will put us in a great position, but we have to be sensible about getting it. It will come for us, I do honestly believe there will be chances, but we need to be strong with our game plan.

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“We have learned some hard lessons in Europe over the last few years. If we want to be a team that gets into the Cham-pions League and competes at that level then we have to learn from some of those mistakes.”

Patrick Roberts was pivotal to the draw in Kazakhstan — and at the weekend in Dublin in the Inter-national Champions Cup, the winger showed up well in the esteemed company of Barcelona.

The on-loan Manchester United winger was kicked up and down the park by Dimitre Shomko. But Griffiths believes that the teenager has what it takes to make the difference for Celtic at this level.

The striker himself has an instinctive reaction and links well with Roberts — he believes they can form a decent partnership as Celtic look to press home their superiority in games this season.

“He is a fantastic talent and it is a pleasure to play with him because he gets so many balls into me,” said Griffiths. 

“He is so quick. You always get the feeling that he is capable of making something happen and getting past his man.

“In the Champions League, in these kind of games, he will be so important for us because I think we have all seen that he has that wee bit of quality. 

“He can hopefully be a player who really comes into his own if we can get ourselves into the group stages.

“First and foremost, though, we need to take care of Astana. We have given ourselves a good chance but we need to concentrate now and get ourselves to that last stage.”

Griffiths flew home from Barcelona on Saturday evening with Luis Suarez’s shirt in his case. However, the striker is looking for more significant souvenirs this season.

“It was great to get his jersey,” he smiled. “I do not really know how I managed it. It is nice and it is a brilliant memento to have — but it would be even better to do it for real.

“I would love to play them at Celtic Park in the Champions League. It would be something special. 

“Just getting to the Champions League would be priceless. It is where we all want to go.”