BRENDAN RODGERS admits Leigh Griffiths has been unlucky to lose his Celtic slot to red-hot Moussa Dembele - but insists he will get his chance to grab it back.
Griffiths blasted 40 goals for the Hoops last term and started this season looking like he was going to match that feat. But his progress was halted after eight goals in the first 10 games of the new campaign when he suffered hamstring and calf injuries.
Since then France U21 international Dembele has seized his chance, with an Old Firm hat-trick and Champions League double against Manchester City helping extend his tally to 13 goals for the season so far.
It appears Scotland international Griffiths will again have to play second fiddle when the Hoops take on Rangers in Sunday's BetFred Cup semi-final at Hampden, but Rodgers stressed Griffiths will be needed as the season goes on.
He said: "The balance in the team is good at the moment - that's unfortunate for the likes of Leigh and Patrick Roberts.
"These are boys who started the season very well. Moussa and James Forrest were on the bench but, when Leigh and Patrick got injured, they came in and did very well. In fairness to those two and the others who haven't featured as much, they have been training very hard because we have so many games.
"From now up to the Christmas period before the winter break, we'll have played something like 44 games, if you include pre-season. That's an incredible amount. That means I need everyone in the squad. Leigh is a top-class young talent and I know that, if I need to play two up front or just the one, he will be ready."
Celtic could have done with Dembele last year, when the team - then under the leadership of Ronny Deila - were stunned as Rangers claimed an upset victory at Hampden in the last-four of the William Hill Scottish Cup by knocking their old rivals out on penalties.
Rangers will be hoping to take inspiration from that game on their return to Hampden after suffering a 5-1 drubbing at Celtic Park last month, but Rodgers has little interest in what happened before he touched down in Glasgow back in July.
He explained: "This game is on neutral ground. The last time, there wasn't so good for Celtic. But it's a different team with a different mentality.
"We will look to take that mentality into Sunday's game. Last year's semi is old news, really. We look to this season and, our first game against them, we were very, very good. It was a brilliant performance in every aspect.
"They have some good players and we respect that. But our focus will be very much on ourselves. We'll look to bring our A game and, if we do that, as we saw earlier in the season, we have a great chance to win."
Victory over Mark Warburton's men would put Celtic on course to complete the first stage of a potential domestic clean sweep. Only two Parkhead bosses have ever claimed a treble - Jock Stein and Martin O'Neill - but Rodgers is not getting too carried away with suggestions he will become the third.
"It's very difficult to win a treble," he said.
"So many managers have fallen short because it's so difficult to achieve. There have been great managers here in the past who haven't done that. This is the first chance we have to win a trophy and that is a priority in itself because it's the first one.
"Our idea was to qualify for the Champions League, which we did, make a good start in the league, which we've done, then look to get to the League Cup final because, unless you do that, you don't get a chance to win a trophy."
