Henderson sets his Celtic target

Liam Henderson is relishing the chance to play under Brendan Rodgers and is ready to seize his chance at Celtic.

The 20-year-old captained Scotland’s under-21 side over the international break and revealed he was told by Rodgers before the break that he could play against Motherwell.

Henderson took to the field in a Celtic jersey for the first time since August and laid down a marker with a solid performance in midfield alongside Scott Brown.

Speaking to Celtic’s official website after his first start of the season, he said:

We have got a big quality squad and everyone is fighting for places. It’s a great place to be. The fans are turning out, we are playing extremely attractive football and I’m working under a world-class manager, so for me, it’s second to none.

I have done my loans. I have been out on two loan spells and I like to think I’ve been pretty successful and I want to look back and have no regrets. I want to give it the best shot I can to try and be a Celtic player. I have no doubt in my mind that Celtic is definitely the best place for me.

When I came back, there were a lot of teams interested in taking me on loan but I spoke to the people close to me – my family, my friends, older boys who I have played with, and I spoke to the manager regularly.

Neil Lennon handed the young midfielder his debut three years ago and went on two loan spells to Rosenborg and Hibernian.

Henderson will look to make an impact in the squad in the coming weeks and months with a jam-packed fixture schedule likely to force Rodgers into rotating the squad to keep the team fresh.

Celtic will face Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday before the League Cup semi-final on Sunday at Hampden Park.