THE conundrum for Tony Watt is to move forward quickly while staying in the same place.
The 18-year-old striker has made a sudden but significant impact at Celtic with his 10 appearances producing five goals.
He is not about to be distracted by speculation about moves away from Parkhead.
"I am a Celtic player. This is where I want to be, so it doesn't bother me," he said of reports of Barclays Premier League scouts watching him. "If the club want to tie me down for the next couple of years, then they can. I am happy to be there. I want to play for Celtic and that's it.
"My agent knows I want to stay here. Everybody does – my family, my friends."
This air of certainty is also reflected when Watt talks of his future. Asked if he is ahead of schedule in his career, he replies with a blunt "No."
He believed he was on a "high" at the end of last season and has capitalised on the absence of Georgios Samaras and Anthony Stokes through injury.
"The gaffer obviously feels I have done well because he has moved me up the pecking order to be in the squad regularly," said Watt. "I do not know if it has come quickly because at the end of last season, I was high. Obviously, I have not just been a one-hit wonder."
He added: "I can keep going higher if I do the right things and, hopefully, I can keep going at this pace." Celtic play St Johnstone tonight in the Scottish Communities League Cup semi-final and Watt rues a miss in the last moments in the recent defeat to the Perth side and in the loss to Kilmarnock on Saturday.
However, his confidence remains undimmed. "Obviously, it was a bad miss," he said of the spurned opportunity on Saturday. "But there is nothing I can do about that, bar put the next one away."
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