Leigh Griffiths vows to change his image and cut out ‘stupidity’

Fenlon’s decision to snap up the player is a show of faith in Griffiths, who was undoubtedly a bright spark for Hibs last term, scoring 11 goals including the winning goal against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

However, he also courted controversy during a tumultuous campaign, serving three separate bans for gesturing at fans during encounters with Rangers,  Cowdenbeath and St Johnstone.

The former Livingston and Dundee man is well aware that he will have to prove himself to some punters who doubt his ability to fit into Fenlon’s disciplinarian philosophy.

Griffiths said: “When there were rumours that I was coming back, some Hibs fans were saying things like “we don’t want him back because of the stupidity” and I am trying to change for the better.

“Hopefully, those same supporters will see me in the first few games of the season and realise that I am trying to improve in that respect.

“The bans for gesturing were just stupidity and it is part of my game I’m trying to change.

“The manager does not want me to take the passion away – you need a bit of fire – but you can’t be stupid like I was. Gesturing to fans or getting involved with referees – that has to stop.

“The first time I was banned should have been a learning curve for me, but I still got banned three times. You know after the third time that you are just being stupid.”

One immediate change Griffiths has made is to shut down his Twitter page. The account, which had over 3,000 followers, courted controversy, with Tweets expressing a lethargy regarding returning to training with Wolves and another this week comparing Hibs’ Berlin hotel to a prison camp.

Griffiths insists that a degree of irony has been lost among those looking in on his posts. However, he has decided to dump the distraction.

He continued: “What I put online from Germany the other day was just meant in a light-hearted way, but obviously someone has misinterpreted it.

“You look at other football players who use these sites, they can write similar things and it would not be such a big deal. Because I have had issues with it before I think people jump on the bandwagon.

“I spoke to the gaffer and told him I was finished with that. It’s not going to happen again. I’ve shut down the social networking sites and I am just going to concentrate on football.”

Griffiths returns to Edinburgh with one eye on gaining some semblance of revenge following an entirely unsatisfactory ending to last season.

His late, low drive in the 2-1 Scottish Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen provided the highlight of a miserable campaign for the Easter Road club. However, his Hampden dream turned into a nightmare on 19 May.

The Scotland under-21 international barely got a kick in the 5-1 defeat by great rivals Hearts, and he morosely watched on as his chance to become a Hibee legend was destroyed.

He continued: “Being a boyhood fan of the club, you really don’t want to leave on bad terms, and I don’t think there is a worse way to end the season than getting beat by Hearts like that.