PROVING his critics wrong, and proving his supporters right, have been the two factors driving the resurgence of Leigh Griffiths at Celtic. These two opposing factions both provide the fuel that is currently helping him fire his way back to his best.

Indeed, the fear of letting his naysayers think they were right all along, and the fear of letting down the people who were sure those detractors were wrong, are major reasons why Griffiths can now still be seen in a Celtic jersey at all.

He admits there were times not so long ago when he almost gave in to those tempting urges to quit Celtic, to believe those who said he was finished at a club of such magnitude, and that he should slink off to play out what was left of his career in a spotlight that was not so harsh.

Thankfully, for both player and club, he has vindicated his decision to devote himself entirely to getting back to doing what he loves most; scoring for Celtic, and hopefully one day soon, Scotland too.

“There was a part of me that thought, 'right, is it worthwhile me just moving completely, get away and try to get a fresh start',” Griffiths said. “And then the flipside was ‘nah, I’ve got a lot of people to prove wrong here’.

“I’m still far from finished and I will show people that I will come back from this and pick up from where I left off and start scoring goals again and making sure my performances are right.

“This time last year I was nowhere to be seen. Now I’m back playing, scoring goals and feeling good.

“It’s just about continuing that way in my day to day life, making sure I’m on the ball in training and looking after myself off the pitch, just making sure I’m right in life.

“What have I changed? Where I’m living for one. I had to move through to Glasgow from Edinburgh, which was a massive change for me. I’ve always stayed in Edinburgh, when I’ve been at Hibs, Dundee and Celtic.

“It was a bit of a shock for me to come through and one of the biggest decisions I’ve made, but I am loving it. Usually they tell you to get out of Glasgow – I’m looking to get closer!

“It’s all down the club. They wanted me to be within touching distance of the stadium and training ground for my own well-being.

“There were people saying I was finished, not just at Celtic but my football career. I’m sure a few Celtic fans doubted it as well.

“I’m just showing them I’m still here and still scoring goals. Hopefully come March I can help send my country to the Euros.”

The central figure to the turnaround in Griffiths’ fortunes, he says with little hesitation, has been his manager, Neil Lennon, who has been the figurehead of a groundswell of support he has had from within the club.

“I was at the Scottish Cup final and I spoke to him afterwards and he said he wanted me to be ready, coming back pre-season, because I was going to have a big part to play,” he said.

“This is the guy who brought me to the club. I had my troubles beforehand and he signed me for the club. He knows what I can do and just having him upstairs, knowing his door is open every single day if I want to go and have a chat with him, he is there to listen. Just to play for him has been brilliant.

“As a club I don’t think I can repay them but one man I do want to repay for having the faith in me to come back and score goals again is him.

“The club just wanted to see me back on the pitch and scoring goals. Thankfully that’s where I am now, trying to repay them – but I don’t think I can every repay the club for the help I’ve had. I wouldn’t be back playing football without them.

“It could have been handled differently. Other clubs might have simply cut ties, said, we’ll let you go, you need to be happy in life.

“Celtic knew what they had in me and wanted to get me back on the pitch scoring goals and seeing that smile back on my face. They are seeing that now a year later.

“I don’t think what I can do on the pitch can repay them, but I’ll be doing my hardest in every game to try to do it.”

When Griffiths was out for an extended period, even after he had returned to the club following a seven-month hiatus due to the mental health issues he was going through, many wondered why it took so long for him to be back among the first-team picture.

But Griffiths has revealed the toil behind the scenes that was necessary for him to now come back to the fore as he has since the winter break.

He admitted: “It was lonely, it was hard, but we’ve got a great backroom staff here and most of my time was spent with the sports scientist John Currie, who has been unbelievable to get me back on the pitch and making sure I’m fit for every training session.

“He’s still chipping away at me now that I can still get fitter and can still do extra, though it’s hard when you’ve got games every three or four days.

“When I’ve got time on the training pitch, it’s him, Kendo (John Kennedy) and Duffers (Damien Duff) as well that are putting the sessions on, and if I want to do extra, they are more than happy to help me out.

“I was doing double sessions. I was coming in around half eight in the morning before the rest of the boys, doing my work in here and then coming back in the afternoons to do more around four or five.

“That went on for a good month and a half, that was just in the gym, but it was all building towards getting my stamina back up and making sure I was right for going out on the pitch.

“Out on the pitch I was doing double sessions with JC and just making sure I was ready for pre-season.

“I had to drum into my mind that I had to look at the bigger picture, it wasn’t just about the short term.

“I’ve been proving people wrong my whole life, people saying I couldn’t do it at this level or that level.

“I seem to keep doing it. I keep knocking the bricks down.”