LEIGH GRIFFITHS has conceded that Celtic must be more vigilant defensively or risk being “severely punished” when they take on Malmo in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie on Wednesday. For the second league match in succession, Ronny Deila’s side seemed to lose concentration late on against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday and ended up conceding two late goals. It mattered little to the outcome of the match with Celtic already 4-0 up at that point but Griffiths, who scored his team’s second goal early in the first half, admitted such sloppiness could be costly in the European arena. Deila has emphasised the need to try to keep a clean sheet at Celtic Park ahead of the return match in Sweden next Tuesday, and Griffiths acknowledged they would need to stay switched on for the entire 90 minutes if they were to meet the manager’s demands.

“We played really well but we gave away a couple of sloppy goals at the end that by our standards were very poor,” said the striker. “It’s a warning. If we play like we that in the Champions League we will be severely punished. It is something we will look at in training during the week and make sure we sort it for Wednesday. At 4-0 up we were looking at going on and winning five or six. But credit to Inverness. They came back at us in the last half an hour.”

Griffiths has started the season strongly, leading the line in the SPFL Premiership in the absence of the suspended Nadir Ciftci. His 12th-minute header was his fourth goal of the campaign but he knows, with Ciftci available for European matches, it still might not be enough to keep his place in the team come Wednesday night.

“You never know if I will get the nod,” he added. “I have done my chances no harm with scoring the goal. It’s all about what the manager thinks on Wednesday afternoon when he names the team. If I am not in it I will give my full support to Nadir. He will no doubt do a job for the team and I will be ready if I am needed to come on. It’s disappointing when you score a goal and the big games come around and you are on the bench. I just have to bide my time.”

Griffiths welcomed the news that Celtic had recruited Scott Allan, just days after recommending the player stayed at Hibernian for another season. “I was taking from a Hibs perspective and them getting out of that league!” said the well-known Hibs fan. “It’s great to have him on board and we’ll welcome him to training on Monday. I know him really well from the under 21 games. He’s a good player who likes to make things happen. I am sure he will be a good addition to the club.”