John Hartson challenges Celtic star to prove his worth

Celtic fan-favourite and striker Leigh Griffiths faces an uphill battle for playing time, but now is his time to prove what he is worth to the club.

Celtic have recently signed a new striker in Polish footballer Patryk Klimala. The new Bhoy projects to be the new number two striker either behind or right beside current superstar Odsonne Edouard.

Hoops boss Neil Lennon will have to decide if he wishes to switch up the current formation to accommodate two strikers/centre-forwards, or if he will maintain his current formation of just one up top. Either way, it means one player in particular may be left out of routine starting duties.

That someone is fan-favourite Leigh Griffiths, who since his arrival, has scored more than 100 goals for the the Green and White. Despite the gloomy forecast for his future role on the squad, Leigh Griffiths has an opportunity laid out in front of him.

Speaking with the BBC, former Celtic footballer and current Celtic realist John Hartson challenged the Celtic legend to make the most of the situation:

"“If you’re Leigh Griffiths, you see it as a challenge. You want to stay and prove you can still do it at this level. He’s been pivotal to Celtic’s success in recent years. Leigh is a goalscorer.“It will be interesting to see whether there are whispers that he’s really not happy, wants to move, wants more game time, or can Neil persuade him and say there are still opportunities and he still has a major part to play.“When you’ve got too many players fighting for a certain position, you are going to get one or two unhappy. That’s when the manager is very important by still keeping them hungry and when they do get that chance, they make sure they are ready.”"

As in any sport across the globe, competition should breed increased production. Each player on every sports team at every level knows that their role is never secure. Patryk Klimala represents youth, but with youth comes inexperience.

Leigh Griffiths still has the ability to compete at the highest level of the sport, and he must use the motivation of a younger player bringing brought into the club as fuel to his fire. Leigh Griffiths can return to his previous form and continue to produce for this club. If that were to happen, the Hoops would undoubtedly be the favourites domestically and could make a deep run in Europe. Imagine the possibility of three deadly strikers on one squad.