Former Scotland under-21 manager Billy Stark has urged Leigh Griffiths to buck up his ideas as the Hoops striker prepares to come back into the Celtic squad.

Brendan Rodgers has suggested that the 26-year-old striker could be back in for the weekend game against Hamilton Accies.

Griffiths has not featured for Celtic since the end of December – or since Rodgers was publicly scathing about his lifestyle choices and the impact he believes they have had on his professional career.

Read more: Billy Stark urges Celtic's Leigh Griffiths not to throw his career away

The striker netted 40 goals for the club last term but Stark, who gave Griffiths his first senior Scotland cap as well as bringing him to under-19 and under-21 squads, believes the player has to wise up to the demands under Rodgers if he wants to have a future at Celtic.

“I just hope for his own sake that he finds his focus and gets the head back down because he is a naturally talented boy,” said Stark.

“He needs to be big enough to take the criticism on the chin. He has had one absolutely cracking season for Celtic which should have given him an appreciation of where the hard work can take him.

“Any manager who chooses to go public with their criticism does it to try and get a response from the player – but there is another aspect too that Brendan will be well aware of.

“If you come out and say things in the media then you also have to back it up. I don’t think Brendan would have any qualms about doing that and you just hope that the penny drops with Leigh that he doesn’t waste what could be a really great career.

Read more: Billy Stark urges Celtic's Leigh Griffiths not to throw his career away

“He has all the attributes of a natural striker. He has made the most of what he has got but he needs to get to work on the training ground and fully buy into what the manager wants to do.

“Ronny Deila couldn’t have criticised Leigh the way that Brendan has because he was scoring goals and he was the only one scoring goals. It is an entirely different season this year and an entirely different manager.

“The manager is right to try and get the best out of him – for the sake of his own career. Hopefully he will take note.”

Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he told James Forrest it was time he was back on the goal trail at the weekend.

The Scotland internationalist netted the second goal in the 2-0 win over Motherwell as he followed orders.

Rodgers told the Celtic View, “I actually said to him ‘score today. You’ve been brilliant on the assists, creating them for everybody else, so see if you can get a goal’ and that’s what he did.”