Ryan Christie has revealed a message of encouragement from Brendan Rodgers in the aftermath of his Celtic breakthrough was the spark to becoming a first-team hero.
The former Inverness star was very much the bit-part player at Parkhead after spending 18 months on loan at Aberdeen and struggling mightily to make an impact from the bench.
But he became a key Celtic man after his stunning goal against Hearts at Murrayfield in October 2018 sealed a place in the Betfred Cup Final.
The goal and the performance were vital for Christie 's confidence but the 24-year-old admits his former manager's endorsement after the win proved vital.
Speaking to the Celtic View, he said: “I remember being really frustrated because it felt like every time I was getting a chance, it wasn’t really working out for me, but the
"Hearts game was the one where I made the impact that I always wanted to.
"I also need to give credit to Brendan Rodgers at the time. We played Dundee in the next game after that…he told me that he couldn’t really pull me out after that performance.
"And I just stayed in after that”
