LEIGH GRIFFITHS wound up the Sevco Rangers fans in Celtic’s 2-0 success at Ibrox yesterday.
The livewire frontman hammered in the killer second goal after Tom Rogic’s explosive effort had opened the scoring five minutes after the turnaround.
But Griffiths revealed he also got a tongue-lashing from boss Brendan Rodgers after an incident with Josh Windass.
The Scotland international striker upset the home supporters when he cleaned his hand on a corner flag only moments after appearing to wipe his nose on the material.
That incensed the Ibrox following, but Griffiths also managed to incur his manager’s wrath for an incident where he knocked Windass into the hoardings.
He admitted: “The manager has been calm most of the time he has been here – that’s one of the few times he has lost it!
“It wasn’t great to see so, hopefully, I can stay on his good side now.”
The striker, who upset the Sevco crowd last season by securing a scarf to a goalpost, added: “The message was just to stay calm.
“At the start of the second-half, tempers were getting a little bit frayed so he just told me to keep the head and concentrate on my football.”
Rodgers said: “It’s always that type of game. We have seen it over many years you can get a bit carried away, but it’s not where I ask them to be.
“In the heat of the battle, you have to stay calm. You don’t want to get a stupid booking.
“Naturally, players sometimes get carried away, but his overall performance was outstanding.”
Griffiths added: “Listen, I enjoyed my goal – you need to celebrate any goal you score. I was delighted with it.
“You need to enjoy those moments.
“It’s a derby at the end of the day and I’m sure if Rangers (sic) players had scored at Celtic Park they would do the exact same thing.
“So, yes, I enjoyed my goal – 2-0, clean sheet, three points and we’ll go down the road and look forward to Wednesday.
”We controlled the game from start to finish.
“Nil-nil was not a bad scoreline to go in with at half-time and we knew going into the second-half our legs would be better than theirs.”
The CQN Podcast: A Celtic State of Mind (EP13) The Quality Street Gang Part 1
A Celtic State of Mind offers an insight into the culture of Celtic Football Club, the city of Glasgow, and fans of the reigning invincible Scottish champions.
Each episode includes interviews with ‘Celtic-minded’ figures from the world of sport, music, film, art, broadcasting, literature or politics.
This week, ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ pays tribute to The Quality Street Gang.
In the first of a two-part series, Paul John Dykes interviews Billy Murdoch, Bobby Wraith, HughMcKellar and Lou Macari to discuss one of the finest crops of youngsters ever to emerge from Celtic Park.
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