Ross County loan midfielder Jamie Lindsay was told to take the high road by Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers to enhance his chances of a Parkhead future.
Lindsay was told by the Northern Irishman a season on loan at County would provide the best platform to build on an outstanding last campaign with Championship Morton.
County manager Jim McIntyre, having seen the 21-year-old shine against Aberdeen, Rangers and Hibs last season, was already keen on taking him north when Rodgers made the call.
The former Scotland under-19 cap, speaking at County’s La Manga training camp, said: “I see this as the next step in my development. I was at Morton last season in the Championship and now I will have a chance to play in the Premiership. Hopefully, I can take it.
“I had a good chat with Brendan Rodgers and Ross County was the first club he mentioned.
“The likes of Marcus Fraser and Jackson Irvine have gone there and do well. He felt it was the right club, so I’m happy the agreement was reached really quickly.
“Brendan said County had a good relationship with Celtic. I went up on Saturday and it’s brilliant – it has everything a player needs – and I hadn’t expected it to be quite as impressive.”
Last season Lindsay stood out in his performances against Aberdeen in a League Cup defeat and in a narrow beating by Rangers at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup.
Lindsay said: “These are the kind of games I really want to play in and those performances have helped me so much.
“Succeeding at Celtic is still my big ambition but I’m not even going to think about that this season. I had a year left at Celtic and then signed for another year on top of that.
“Hopefully, I can get a chance when I return but my focus is on County now for the full season.”
Rodgers is renowned for attention to detail and the Celtic manager’s influence has been inspirational.
He said: “He has always been really good with me.
“Even when I was on-loan last season, I had a couple of meetings with him and he was always keen to keep me involved.
“I came back in pre-season and did the first week or so training with the first team and then he spoke to me after that.
“He’s always been really good with all the young players and you’ll see the likes of Anthony Ralston and Calvin Miller all getting their chance, as Kieran Tierney did before them.
“If we’re good enough, we will get a chance.”
