The emergence of Moussa Dembele this season means that despite scoring an incredible 40 goals last season Leigh Griffiths has found it tough to get a regular start under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic.

If you'd said that sentence last year you'd have been laughed at but this is where we are in 2017 and Griffiths continues to spend life out of the first team and on the bench at Celtic Park.

You can't really blame Rodgers, or Griffiths for that matter. Moussa Dembele appears to be a once in a generation talent in Scottish football with comparisons already being drawn with the likes of Henrik Larsson. For some younger Celtic fans, he's the best striker they've ever seen at the club.

However, you'd be silly to suggest that Griffiths' time at the club is up or that he is anything but absolutely vital to Celtic still.

Here are FOUR reasons why Rodgers and Celtic must keep the Scotland international firmly in their plans...

His scoring rate is still impressive

Leigh Griffiths is still scoring goals at an impressive rate. He's made 29 appearances this season, of which 13 were from the substitutes' bench. Despite not really getting a regular start he's scored 14 goals which means he's still hitting the back of the net just under once per two games.

That's not bad going at all and in fact is the kind of scoring rate that most strikers would feel accomplished with.

Overall he's scored 81 goals in 135 games for the Hoops, a massive contribution in his time at the club. Nobody has scored more goals for Celtic since his debut in February 2014.

He showed again on Saturday that even when out of the team for an extended period he can come back and put his name on the scoresheet. That kind of reliability is what makes him still one of the Hoops most important players.

A game-changer

Even when not starting, we can barely think of a better option for Brendan Rodgers to have off the bench than Leigh Griffiths. That was evident again at the weekend when he came on early in the second half when the Bhoys were 1-0 down to St Mirren.

From winning the free-kick that led to the equaliser to setting up Scott Sinclair for the equaliser to scoring himself, it was a performance that the Hoops badly needed and a performance that may well have saved Celtic's treble bid.

That kind of impact is hard to come by but Rodgers is lucky to have such an effective plan B. Griffiths is the kind of player that will always work hard and give his best even when out of favour and it's as good a reason as any to make sure he stays at the club for a long time.

Can lead the transition when Dembele moves on

Even the most optimistic Celtic supporter will admit that one day it will be time for Moussa Dembele to move onto pastures new, perhaps to prove himself at a higher level than the Scottish Premiership. While all parties seem happy to have him stay on for another season at least, the Hoops still must plan for the future.

It's likely that when Dembele does move on that Celtic re-enter the transfer market to try and sign someone they at least believe can be the new number one striker at the club.

However, Leigh Griffiths will be vital in any transition. We saw last summer that it was Griffiths who stepped up to the plate initially in UEFA Champions League qualifying and again when Dembele hit a slight slump in form in the autumn. Because he's so consistent and can be relied upon, he's the perfect man to help young strikers come through the club and excel.

He's the constant that Celtic need in order to keep recycling talent in the manner they have done throughout the years. The Bhoys don't have time to indulge learning, the pressures are too great, so when any new striker comes through the doors they at least know they have one man to rely upon.

The perfect back-up

Celtic aren't blessed with huge resources, especially in comparison to clubs they play in European competition, so it's vital that the back-up they have is both affordable and extremely effective. Griffiths loves life at Celtic Park and although it hasn't been the best season for him personally will likely always enjoy playing for the Scottish champions.

He doesn't need to be first choice every week to be extremely valued by supporters and the club itself. Moussa Dembele may be hitting the headlines but most Celtic fans know that without Griffiths the squad's striking depth would be severely limited.