Former Celtic skipper Stephen McManus says Leigh Griffiths will play key role against Rangers

Former Celtic captain Stephen McManus says Leigh Griffiths will be a key player in Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers.

The Motherwell defender was given an unwelcome reminder of the Celtic striker's single-minded attitude last Saturday when Griffiths struck twice at Fir Park to earn three points for the Premiership leaders.

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The former Hibernian player had earlier missed a penalty and showed what it meant to break a four-game duck - which included Scotland's friendly with Denmark - by racing the entire length of the pitch to celebrate his opener in
front of the visiting fans.

Griffiths has now scored 37 goals this season and McManus predicts he will have a major say in the outcome of the Glasgow derby, live on Sky Sports.

"Strikers need to score goals for themselves, for the pressure of it. Playing for Celtic you get a lot of chances and sometimes that can play on your mind when you are not scoring," said McManus, who made over 150 appearances for Celtic between 2003-2010.

"But the most important thing is he still in there, and he's going to be a big, big player for Celtic at the weekend.

"Leigh Griffiths has had a tremendous season. It's not easy scoring goals at the Old Firm, certainly not Celtic. You need to be the right type of character to handle the pressure, to relish the pressure that comes with it, and Leigh has certainly done that.

"He will now be looking to advance on his next aim, to become a regular for Scotland. But he has had a terrific season and when you have someone like him in your side you know you are going to get chances and you know you will get an opportunity to score goals."

McManus was promoting a charity golf challenge he is undertaking with Motherwell team-mates David Clarkson and Stephen Pearson along with Kenny Monaghan, a resident professional at Linlithgow Golf Club. The four will attempt
to play 72 holes in one day on May 20.

"We've been good mates with Kenny, the four of us hang about together," McManus said. "Kenny lost his mum to cancer five years ago and we decided to do the Longest Day Golf Challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support.

"It will be a tough day but it will be enjoyable and it's a great cause so hopefully we can raise as much money as we can."