Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths still irked at the one that got away

As Celtic twisted the knife after taking the lead in the dying minutes, Griffiths had the chance to add to the scoreline when he broke through the Rangers defence only to see his attempted chip pushed away by Matt Gilks.

“I am devastated with that,” said the striker. “Nine times out of ten I would just smash it straight across goal but I thought Gilks was going to go down so I tried to put it over him but it wasn’t to be.

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“I am just glad that we got through because if they had gone up the park and scored then I would have put myself in a hole.”

Celtic will be overwhelming favourites now to lift the Betfred League Cup with the feeling being that it could be part of a bigger picture this season.

While Aberdeen will have something to say about that, Griffiths believes that the way Celtic have played domestically this season has set a marker for what they are capable of.

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”We are under no illusions that Aberdeen are a good side,” he said. “They’ve pushed us close in the last few seasons and they will feel confident.

“But we know what we can do in that changing room. If we play to our maximum best, there is no team in the country who can live with us.

“There has been a lot of talk about the Treble with the manager coming in and the way we are playing, but we have to take each game as it comes. We are in the final and will enjoy today and tonight but come tomorrow, we will be focussed on getting three points away to Ross County on Wednesday.

“The manager wants us to keep our feet on the ground. Dingwall is a difficult venue for us and we want to go and get three points.”

With a month to go before that final is played, Griffiths will look again to push to play a more pivotal role in Brendan Rodgers’ side.

In fairness to the striker he will feel that he has shown that he can be depended upon to be introduced to the fray and make an impact from the bench, although inevitably he would prefer to be starting games.

“I think I have shown that I can come on and do something,” he said. “Of course it’s frustrating. If you ask any player if they are happy to be on the bench and they say yes, then they are lying through their back teeth. Every player wants to play.”

The answer that most Hoops supporters would opt for is to play both Griffiths and Moussa Dembele together. Ultimately that seems unlikely with Rodgers explaining before the game at Hampden the manner in which his system would have to change for that to happen, but Griffiths believes that the duo have shown an early understanding.

“We are always confident of scoring goals,” said Griffiths. “Our chances of playing together have been limited but when we have played together we have linked up. I think you seen that against Astana when I rolled it back and he got the penalty and you seen it again with the win against Rangers.

“The signs are there that we can play together but it is up to the manager whether he goes with two up top or sticks to one.

“It is a team game and it is all about winning games.”

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And Griffiths has insisted that he wasn’t tempted to take the chance himself when he teed up the Frenchman for what proved to be the only goal of the game.

“Not from that angle I wouldn’t,” he said. “I knew Moussa was going to be in the box and I just had to keep it low. The big man is quick, he’s powerful and he will hold off defenders. So I was delighted that he held off the defender and tucked it away.

“Gilks kept them in it with a few good saves but I knew we would get a few good chances to win the game and thankfully I put it on a plate for Moussa and he scored.”