LEIGH Griffiths has admitted he feared that Celtic were going to offload him this summer and pledged to repay the Parkhead club for standing by him while he took an extended break from football by scoring goals.

Griffiths made his competitive comeback for the treble Treble winners after over six months out when he came on as a late substitute in the Champions League qualifier against Sarajevo in Glasgow last week.

The 28-year-old is hoping to be involved once again when Neil Lennon’s men take on Nomme Kalju of Estonia at home in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie tomorrow evening. Victory will set up a meeting with either Cluj or Romania or Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel in the third round.

The striker, who was told to take a sabbatical by his former manager Brendan Rodgers last December, has spoken openly this summer about his struggles with depression and paid a glowing tribute to Celtic staff for helping him through a difficult period.

However, Griffiths has also revealed that he feared the Scottish champions, who embarked on an extensive rebuilding process back in May after completing their third consecutive clean sweep of domestic trophies, could move him on during the close season.

Asked if he felt that he owed the club for supporting him, he said: “Yes I would say so. It could have been easy for the club to cut ties altogether and say ‘look we’ll give you time off but in the summer it’s best if we go our separate ways’. It was a worry for me. I’m not going to lie.

“But fair play to them, they told me to take the time off and to come back and start again. That’s what I’m trying to do. The manager came to me and said that it’s a clean slate this season and to show everyone what I’m all about and to get to many best.

“I can’t thank the club enough to be honest. Peter Lawwell, the gaffer, Brendan Rodgers and Tom Dickson, as well as John Currie, Scott Brady, who have helped me during my time off to get match fit.

“These guys have played important roles as well as friends and family who have helped me along the way. I want to do it for those guys, show I am mentally strong enough to come through the other side. I want to prove to my kids so that when they get older they can see that I took time off and managed to come back and be a bigger star than I was before.”

Griffiths added: “It shows what this club is all about. It’s not just about looking out for itself. It’s about looking out for the players. They don’t want me to just play for Celtic. They want me to be okay after I finish my football career. That’s speaking to Peter, that’s speaking to the manager, to Tom Dickson, a lot of people at the club. I could be here for ages talking about names.

“These guys want me at the club because they know what I can do, they know I can be a big success, and most importantly that I can score goals.

“They’ve had players in the past who might have been a bit of a problem but couldn’t score goals or do their job. I can. It’s just about getting my mindset right and getting focused on playing well, training well but, most importantly, feeling well off the park.”

Griffiths also thanked Celtic fans for the support they have shown him throughout his time out and the reception they gave him when he came on against Sarajevo last week.

“This feels like a family, 100 per cent,” he said. “Everywhere you go there’s always someone coming up to you and saying it’s great to have you back or it’s great to see you looking so well. I didn’t think I looked bad to be honest.

“It’s been great – the amount of people who came up to me in the street, in the supermarket or wherever I’ve been to say ‘look, I’m delighted you are back so let’s try and kick on’. I try and look at the positive side. The more focussed I am on the training pitch the more focussed I’ll be on the football pitch.”

Griffiths, though, stressed that he hasn't completely recovered from the issues that forced him out of the game. “Not fully," he said. "I have made giant strides to overcome it. It is not fully away yet. It is a long-term thing. You can’t get fully rid of it.

"Something might trigger you and set you back a couple of paces. But I have got a clearer mindset now. If something does happen I am not going to do certain things.

"I have got a good record in this competition so far in the qualifying rounds. Hopefully that continues all the way through

Meanwhile, Celtic have cancelled a proposed trial with former Leicester City defender Danny Simpson as they edge nearer to completing the £1.6 million signing of Israeli internationalist Hatem Abd Elhamed from Happoel Be’er Sheva.