Hibs striker Leigh Griffiths’ outstanding campaign got even better when he was named Clydesdale Bank SPL player of the season.
The young player of the year award went to Celtic’s Victor Wanyama after the Kenyan midfielder played a key role in the Hoops’ second successive title win.
Griffiths, on loan from Wolves, has pleaded with Hibs manager Pat Fenlon not to wrap him up in cotton wool ahead of the Scottish Cup final against Celtic as he bids to become the first player at Easter Road to score 30 goals in a season for 40 years.
Sunday’s thunderous equalising free-kick in the win against Hearts saw him take his tally to 28.
With two league matches left against Kilmarnock on Wednesday and Dundee at the weekend ahead of their Hampden showdown, Griffiths is on the verge of joining an illustrious goal scoring club in Leith.
Hibs supporters have not rose to acclaim a 30-goal player since Alan Gordon and Jimmy O’Rourke netted 42 and 34 respectively in 1973.
Griffiths, who was also recently crowned PFA Young Player of the Year, said: “Since I knew it was 28 to equal Steve Cowan’s record from 1986, that’s what I wanted to do.
“And there was no better place to do it than at Tynecastle. Now my aim is to get 30, or even pass that. I’m hoping to do that in the next two games.
“I want to play in every game I can and I want to beat that record. I want to be the first player in 40 years to do that.
“It is up to the manager whether he wants to rest me for a couple of games and rest me for the final. But I want to keep playing until the manager says.”
Griffith’s second season-long loan from Wolves is coming to an end and his future remains uncertain following Dean Saunders’ recent sacking at Molineux, despite a meeting with sport director Kevin Thelwell last Thursday.
Hibs are desperate to keep the 22-year-old but his parent club have the option to extend his contract for a further 12 months this summer.
Griffiths added: “I am in a bit of limbo and I have three massive games to go before I decide anything on my future.
“Wolves have said they want me down for pre-season and it is up to the new manager, whoever that may be, to decide if he wants to keep me at the club or let me go.
“We will just need to see what happens after the Scottish Cup final and see if Hibs and Wolves can come to an agreement.”
Griffiths would love to be included in Gordon Strachan’s next Scotland squad for the meaningless World Cup qualifier away to Croatia in June.
The forward, whose only cap to date came as a substitute in last November’s win in Luxembourg, said: “If I am in the Scotland squad then I will be absolutely delighted and it would cap off a dream season.”