Conor Hazard has admitted he has had a rollercoaster campaign at Celtic but insists he has the belief in his ability and personality to become the long term number one at Parkhead.
The 23-year-old Northern Ireland goalkeeper made his competitive debut for the Hoops in December's 3-2 victory over Lille in the Europa League and then manager Neil Lennon had enough faith in Hazard to play him in the Scottish Cup final against Hearts.
Hazard repaid Lennon by saving two penalties in the shoot-out victory but shortly after he was dropped and wasn't even on the bench with John Kennedy in charge for the Old Firm derby with Rangers earlier this month.
Hazard, who started for his country in Sunday's friendly against USA, said: "It has been a rollercoaster of a season for me. I wasn’t involved at the start of the season but I wasn’t able to go anywhere and everything was up in the air.
“Then I got an opportunity in the Europa League and I have to hold my hands up and thank Woodsy (Stevie Woods) and Neil Lennon for giving me that opportunity and then trusting me in the cup final.
“I was over the moon and it was a big, big game and a huge opportunity for me. Then I was out of the team due to other factors and have now signed a new deal, so hopefully that’s a good step moving forward.
"My main focus is I have to get game time. That has to be one of the non-negotiables now if I'm going to take the next step in my career.
"With Celtic the main aim is to be number one and I'll go back and do everything I can to nail that down. If that doesn't work then I'll look at the options.
“It’s in my personality to keep going until I get what I want. I have self-belief and I think I’m proving that with every opportunity I get. I’ve played seven games and have four clean sheets and unbeaten in seven.
“It’s been a long season for everyone at the club. There's the disappointment of not winning the league and sealing that 10 In A Row but we have to bounce back and move forward.
"There’s still a big cup to play for and that’s what we are putting our minds to now.”
Hazard said he was sad to see Lennon leave Celtic.
"He is a legend at the club. You can see with the stats how many years he’d been there, what he won and what he sacrificed for the club," said the goalkeeper.
“It’s sad to see a man like that go and for him to give me my opportunity means a lot."
