Neil Lennon is delighted by the impact a returning Ryan Christie has made to his Celtic team in our two matches this week, as reported by The Daily Record.
The Scotland international returned from injury to make a substitute cameo appearance against St Mirren on Wednesday night, scoring the second goal of the game to secure the three points.
He was selected from the start against Livingston on Saturday and while he couldn’t provide that spark to break the 0-0 stalemate, building his fitness is vital for next week’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.
Lennon is loving working with the player, telling The Daily Record:
I’m delighted to get Ryan back on the pitch. I’ve enjoyed working with him. He gave us all a lift on Wednesday at St Mirren.
He had good energy about him – he’s quality. I tried to get Ryan to Hibs at the start of the season before he had made his impact at Parkhead.
When they join such a big club, players can be written off very quickly. Maybe that was the case for Ryan. But he has improved in a physical sense, his professionalism is good and he’s a good talent.
He is a good, young Scottish player and hopefully there is a lot more to come from him. He came back from injury quicker than expected and that speaks volumes for his desire to get back in the team.
With 11 goals and nine assists this season, Christie has contributed well from midfield and is one of the big success stories in the first-team squad this term.
Fans are excited to have him back for upcoming matches and you’d have to think he will start next week at Hampden given he scored the winner against Aberdeen, his former club, in the Scottish League Cup final back in December.
He’s a big game player and hopefully he can prove that again and help fire us towards another treble.
Would you start Ryan Christie next week? Have your say in the comments below…