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Leigh Griffiths is relishing the return of Celtic stars who can make the Hoops even better

Lee Griffiths (L), and Scott Brown of Celtic celebrate at the final whistle as Celtic beat FC Sarajevo 2-1 during the UEFA Champions League First ...
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The Celtic striker pointed out that Neil Lennon’s side were missing a number of key players at the weekend.

Lee Griffiths (L), and Scott Brown of Celtic celebrate at the final whistle as Celtic beat  FC Sarajevo 2-1 during the UEFA Champions League First Qualifying Round 2nd Leg match between...

Leigh Griffiths thinks Celtic can become even better than their recent 7-0 rout of St Johnstone suggests, with a number of players ready to come into Neil Lennon’s team if needed, The Scottish Sun report.

The striker came off the bench against the Perth side to score his second goal of the season, helping his side rack up an impressive statement victory on the opening weekend of the Scottish Premiership.

Confidence is visibly flowing through Lennon’s side right now, but Griffiths reckons they can become stronger still, with a number of high profile players not even included in Saturday’s squad.

As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the 28-year-old said: “It’s a joy to see us playing like that.

“We look strong. We were missing Christopher Jullien, Jozo Simunovic and Kieran Tierney on Saturday. You also have the attacking players who weren’t in the squad — Tom Rogic, Marian Shved and Vakoun Bayo.

“There are a lot of players who will come back and make us even stronger.”

Jullien is the club’s star signing this summer and Simunovic has been in imperious form since Lennon arrived for his second spell as manager. Having that duo available certainly gives the Hoops boss a positive selection headache in defence.

As for Tierney, well everyone’s aware of his talents and if he stays and returns to fitness then he’ll no doubt improve their left flank.

Glen Kamara of Rangers is challenges Tom Rogic of Celtic during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium on May 12, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Of the three other mentioned, Rogic in particular can be a match winner for the Hoops. Having him back in the mix will be a huge boost to the Hoops’ midfield options, even if Ryan Christie looks undroppable right now.

Griffiths is clearly relishing having a full squad to compete for places with. Strong competition will only bring out the best of players at Celtic and they need that hunger to get nine-in-a-row over the line.

The next test on the horizon is Romanian champions Cluj on Wednesday night. It’s a much more difficult prospect than the weekend’s action and it’ll be fascinating to see if Celtic can maintain their performance levels for that one.

Neil Lennon, manager of Celtic gestures during the UEFA Champions League First Qualifying Round 2nd Leg match between Celtic and FC Sarajevo at Celtic Park Stadium on July 17, 2019 in...