Celtic’s all-conquering form has set a high bar for midfielder Ewan Henderson to aim for during his loan spell at Ross County.
Henderson joined County from the Hoops on a season-long loan deal in the summer in order to gain first team experience, with the 19-year-old making eight appearances for the Staggies so far.
Celtic have been in blistering form this season, with an excellent run of 14 wins from 15 games moving them top of the Premiership and into the last-32 of the Europa League, while Neil Lennon’s men also lifted the Betfred Cup by beating Rangers earlier this month.
With Henderson’s long-term aim to break into the Parkhead side, the midfielder takes encouragement from seeing the likes of Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie thrive after taking a similar pathway.
Henderson said: “Celtic are winning every game, which I’m buzzing for. Hopefully they will get nine in a row.
“It just keeps me pushing to make myself better and hopefully get myself into the team in the summer.
“I obviously look at Callum McGregor, who did really well in England, and Ryan Christie at Aberdeen.
“I look at them, to see how they are first pick on the team-sheet. To see what they have done is motivation for me to go back to Celtic and do that as well.”
Henderson’s immediate focus is with the Staggies, who will take a depleted squad to Livingston for today’s Premiership encounter following an outbreak of norovirus among the squad.
The switch to the Dingwall side has been a productive experience both on and off the field for Henderson so far, and he added: “It has been amazing for me. I’m having to live on my own, although I’m staying with Tom Grivosti.
“Having to move away from my family is obviously difficult, but it’s really good for maturity and having to grow up a bit quicker than you would have to if you were back home.
“I miss my mum and dad’s cooking, but I’m an all right cook anyway. Tom is a cook chef though, so he does the cooking and I do the cleaning.
“On the football side it has helped quite a lot, playing more first team games than I would have had I stayed at Celtic for the season.
“It’s really good to play at this level, in the top league in Scotland. That has been good for my development.”
Henderson is among the players unaffected by the illness, and after coming off the bench to help set up Lee Erwin’s winner in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Kilmarnock he hopes to push into Steven Ferguson and Stuart Kettlewell’s starting line-up.
He added: “It was good to come on and help the team get the win. I’ll just keep my head down, keep working hard in training and see what happens.
“The managers believe in younger boys, which is really good for myself, Harry Paton and Lewis Spence.
“It’s really good having people who believe in you when you step on the pitch.”
