Liam Scales' rapid rise from Irish football to Celtic Park came as no surprise to his former mentor.
In fact, ex-UCD boss Collie O'Neill knew the defender had what it takes early doors.
That's why he didn't mind using every trick in the book to spur on the youngster including a strongly-worded letter - even if it meant incurring the wrath of Scales' mother.
The teen made the £600,000 switch from Shamrock Rovers to Parkhead this summer under Ange Postecoglou and O'Neill reckons the Hoops have landed a bargain.
But he smiles when he looks back on the advice he gave his old protege.
"I gave Liam a letter when he finished with UCD," O'Neill recalled to the Daily Record. "And I have to admit his mother wasn’t happy at all with one of the words I put on it.
“It’s something I thought, at the time, may have been a weakness but he’s just got better and better with it as time has gone on.
“I basically said, ‘the bigger stages that you move on to, the bigger something you will have to be’. I didn’t use the word something!
“Liam then moved to the bigger stage at Shamrock Rovers and he just continued to grow.
“It’s exactly what I expect from him again now that he has gone to Celtic.
“It’s a bigger platform, a bigger stage for him, but I fully expect him not just to do OK, but to actually excel there. He’ll be a bargain because of the first-team experience he has and the European experience he has and because of the potential for growth.
“As I said, if you look at each platform and stage that he’s been up to, he’s performed.
“To me, he has gone in under the radar.
“If he develops and grows as he has done at his previous two clubs then Celtic have got one hell of a player for a superb price.”
