Lewis Morgan hopeful of making an impact at Celtic next season

LEWIS MORGAN is confident he can make his mark at Celtic next season after being helped back “from the footballing wilderness” at St Mirren.

The attacking midfielder will join the Hoops in the summer after they paid around £300,000 in January before loaning him back to St Mirren for the rest of the season.

That move has already paid off, with the Buddies clinching the Scottish Championship last week and Morgan earning a nomination for the PFA Scotland young player of the year award.

Although his spell with St Mirren is all but over, Morgan, a Scotland Under-21 international, is grateful for the role the club has played in his career after he was discarded by Rangers at the age of 16.

“It’s the first bit of silverware that I’ve won in my career,” he said. “To do it with St Mirren, a team that has helped me get back in from the footballing wilderness is great, and to go and give something back to the club and be a part of that, seeing what it meant to the fans and scoring the winner in the derby in my last home game, it’s something you couldn’t write.”

On his move to Celtic Park and whether he can make an instant impact, he added: “I have high expectations of myself, I have confidence in my own ability and I know going into a club like Celtic it will be a challenge and very demanding.

“I do (think I’m ready for the first team). I have a massive amount of respect for the players that are already there and what they’ve achieved, it’s been nothing short of remarkable so I know I will have to bide my time.

“But I have that belief in myself that if I’m given a chance, I will be able to show everyone why they were interested in me in the first place.

Morgan is up against future Celtic team-mate Kieran Tierney for the young player of the year, but his nomination from the second tier of Scottish football is a mark of his impact this season, even if it has taken him by surprise.

“Looking back at the last 12 months I don’t think it would be in my wildest dreams to be sitting here being nominated for young player of the year and championship player of the year on the back of a league winning campaign,” he said.

“It’s been great for me, obviously I got my move to Celtic which is something else which every boy dreams of when they’re younger; getting to play for a club of that size and stature.”