Having felt the full force of a baying Tynecastle crowd, Leigh Griffiths believes his immunity to hostility is well practised.

The Celtic striker is always guaranteed a particular welcome in Gorgie given his affection for boyhood side Hibs, but running the gauntlet in Edinburgh ought to serve Griffiths well as the Parkhead side prepare for a potential trip to Linfield next month.

But while Griffiths has no qualms about the reception that could await Brendan Rodgers’ side he has brushed off any fears about the expected rancour from the home support.

“I go Tynecastle - that’s worse!” he laughed. “Going to Tynecastle is worse than any place I have ever been.

“It’s directed at me and Scott Brown.

“We know it will be a hostile environment, but if they do get through hopefully it’s about us. If we put in a professional performance then hopefully we can come in with a decent lead and we look forward to the home leg.

“When I first went to Tynecastle I couldn’t buy a win and then we had two draws and a win with Hibs. Ever since I’ve not been beaten. Good omens”

“There’s been a lot of talk about when the game in Belfast will take place but that’s showing no respect to the team from San Marino.

“Linfield have to win them and then we can start talking about our game. Right now we’re jumping a little bit too far ahead.”

Celtic have refused to accept their allocation of tickets for the clash with Linfield, assuming the Northern Irish side progress.

While that might lead to a more intimidating atmosphere for the visitors, Griffiths is insistent that it will be a purely professional performance from Rodgers’ side.

“If Celtic don’t want to take tickets then they don’t want to take tickets,” said the striker. “It’s all about keeping the fans safe.

“We know how Linfield are - it’s one of the games we have to do professionally, get the win and look forward to the home leg.”

Griffiths has had 12 days off since his performance against England at Hampden, a display that drew widespread recognition for the striker.

It caught the attention of Rodgers who was one of the first to text his congratulations in the immediate aftermath of the game, and it may well have given the Celtic manager some food for thought.

Moussa Dembele is currently one of Europe’s coveted young talents and with a pricetag of £30m resting on his shoulders, the betting money would be on the Frenchman returning to lead the line for Celtic, assuming the club stand firm in the wake of any interest in him.

And yet, Griffiths’ display in the latter weeks of the season when Dembele was injured as well as the greater maturity and industry of his displays, notable against England, may well have given Rodgers pause.

Certainly, the striker is reluctant to go back to facing life on the bench.

“The gaffer’s got to take big credit for it because he’s seen improvements in my game since the start of last season,” he said. “I don’t want to be going back on the bench for the full campaign, I want to be playing.

“I’m going to be 27 in August, I’m no spring chicken I’m probably in the best form of my career so far and it’s one of those ones when you don’t want to be playing second fiddle. But the manager knows that. He knows he has two players who want to play week in, week out and it’s up to us to fight it out for that one position.

“It’s a new season, it will be 50-50 it’s just about how hard you work in training, how well you’re looking, how sharp you are. Obviously in the pre-season friendlies you need to show what you’re all about. The Champions League qualifiers come up very quickly so he has to make his mind up pretty quickly about who’s going to be number one.

“I started well and in the first few games in the league season I scored as well. The manager knows I can do it on that kind of stage. But Moussa’s proved that he can do it in the group stage. So he has a selection headache on his hands but it’s one he will probably relish.”

There has been interest in Griffiths from elsewhere and while he could go onto earn legendary status at Celtic – he is just 15 goals away from becoming the first Hoops player since John Hartson to hit a century of goals for the club – there is a feeling that he is reluctant to play second fiddle.

Asked if he would find himself on the bench again after the opening weeks of the season, Griffiths said: “If it’s that the case I’ll need to go away and work hard and speak to the manager to find out what’s going to happen, if I’m going to be playing second fiddle or I’m going to get my chance sooner rather than later.

“You never know, I might start the season ahead of Moussa. It’s up to the manager and what he wants to go with.”

For now, though, it is all about getting ready to go again.

The player has admitted to feeling some tiredness after the quickest of breaks but appreciates the need for a quick return, even if he doesn’t enjoy it.

“Anybody who tells you they enjoy pre-season is a liar,” he said. “I’m telling you that now. You can’t enjoy pre-season but it’s all about getting your fitness levels back. When the manager came in last year he revamped the whole place and it was a difficult pre-season but we reaped the rewards at the end of the season.”