Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths says he needs regular football at this stage of his career.

The 27-year-old has been prolific in his four and a half year spell at Parkhead but lost his place in Brendan Rodgers side last season after a series of injuries kept him on the sidelines.

Griffiths now faces competition from Moussa Dembele and record signing Odsonne Edouard as he looks to establish himself as the number one striker at the club.

The Scotland striker said that whilst he believes the trio's battle for a starting spot is beneficial, he needs to be playing regularly.

He said: "I'm 27 now and I'm going to be 28 in a couple of months.

"I'm at the stage of my career that I need to be playing regularly and hopefully when I do get that chance I take it with both hands.

"It's always nice to have a bit of competition but you want to be selfish as well as a striker.

"You want to play and I'm sure the other guys will feel the same but its all about who gets that starting jersey and makes it their own.

"Hopefully my injury woes are behind me and i can move forward now and stake my place.

Griffiths and the Celtic squad are currently in Austria for a pre-season camp as they build up fitness ahead of their Champions League campaign.

The Hoops will travel to Armenia to face Alashkert in the first round of qualifying, and despite the tough trip, Griffiths said he is not daunted by it.

He added: "We've faced that kind of trip before.

"We've been to Kazakhstan and we know whats required.

"We need to go there and get the job done

"Ultimately its a two leg affair, so if we do come across a stumbling block in the first leg then we have second left to put it right."

Brendan Rodgers side will open their domestic campaign on August the 4th when they unfurl the league flag at home to Kenny Miller's Livingston.

Griffiths says the Premiership has become more competitive and acknowledged the transfer activity amongst other clubs in the division but said Celtic will only focus on their own performances.

He said: "The league seems to be getting tougher every year and we relish that challenge and it's all about what we do

"Everybody's making noise about other signings and stuff but we just concentrate on what we do on the park.

"If we do our job then we'll be up there."