Scott Cuthbert believes his season-long loan move to St Mirren can help him secure a first-team place at Celtic.

Derek Miller and Chris Tait

cott Cuthbert believes his season-long loan move to St Mirren can help him secure a first-team place at Celtic.

The Scotland Under-21 defender has joined the Paisley outfit for the whole campaign and is set to make his debut today against Kilmarnock.

Cuthbert is confident the experience he gains with St Mirren will stand him in good stead for when he returns to Celtic, where he recently agreed a two-year deal. "I'm absolutely delighted with the move," he said. "I signed my new contract with Celtic a couple of days ago then was lucky enough to get this deal.

"The great thing about this move is it gives me a year in the SPL before I go back to prove I'm good enough for Celtic. If you're not in the manager's plans and are not going to play then going out on loan is the right thing to do, especially for me as I have not had a lot of first-team experience."

Cuthbert was impressed by Gus MacPherson's plans for St Mirren. "I liked the way the manager talked and the way they played football,"

said Cuthbert. "When I heard of their interest the obvious pull was they are playing in the SPL - I didn't want to drop down a division.

Cuthbert looks set to start against Kilmarnock as Will Haining is serving a suspended following his controversial red card against Celtic last weekend.

"I was really impressed with the way St Mirren played against Celtic, they got the ball down and passed it about and caused Celtic a lot of problems," said Cuthbert. "Hopefully, we can play like that against Kilmarnock and get a win in front of our home crowd."

Securing three points this afternoon may prove difficult however, with Frazer Wright, the Kilmarnock defender who went through much of last season with an injured ankle, finally returning to what he insists is a much-stronger squad this term.

Wright was forced to play through the pain for a Kilmarnock side depleted by injuries. However, after a successful operation to remove a loose piece of bone from the ankle joint, Wright has returned to a noticeably strengthened pool.

"It's as strong a squad as we've had since I've been at the club and there is good competition in all areas," said Wright. "That's a good thing especially after all the injuries we had last season.

"It's going to be a hard game this weekend, it'll be a difficult season. St Mirren are a good side but it was important for us to get our first win last week and it sets us up nicely."