Leigh Griffiths: Striker 'far from finished' at Celtic
- Published
Leigh Griffiths' early strike sent Celtic on the way to victory
Leigh Griffiths insists he is "far from finished" at Celtic after scoring his first goal in five months on his return to the starting line-up.
The 29-year-old striker, starting for the first time since 12 December, hit the opener as holders Celtic won 2-1 at Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup.
Griffiths has 17-goal striker Odsonne Edouard and new signing Patryk Klimala for competition up front.
"It's been a long time coming. It's frustrating not playing," he said.
"Today I've shown I can still score goals and play well. I've just had to bide my time, keep working hard in training and when I get my chance I need to play well and score goals.
"My time at Celtic is far from finished, believe me. And hopefully this is just the start of a good run."
Griffiths, who has suffered with injury and personal issues, is motivated to "shut up" the critics who he feels have written him off.
"Everybody wants to talk about me and Celtic bringing other strikers in, which means I'm finished at the club," he added.
"There's a lot of pundits and ex-pros who think my time at Celtic is finished. That's the only way I can shut them up, by scoring goals and playing well.
"I had to bite my tongue because I keep getting sent the same things on social media. It's not nice and I wish people would just let me get on get on with my game."
Manager Neil Lennon says there is more to come from Scotland forward Griffiths, who pounced on a loose ball inside the box to open the scoring early on.
Callum McGregor added a deflected second-half strike as Celtic reached the last 16, despite a stoppage-time Stuart Bannigan penalty for the hosts, in their pursuit of a fourth consecutive treble.
"Leigh has been looking sharp and played well and scored a striker's goal," Lennon said. "He is a great player, a great scorer.
"He has had fitness issues and other issues. We don't score many goals like that and he does."