Celtic youngster Aidan Nesbitt is hoping that Brendan Rodgers can do the same for him as he did for Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe at Liverpool, after joining Morton on-loan to aid his development.
The highly-rated 19-year-old got his first taste of action with Jim Duffy’s side in Tuesday night’s Betfred Cup win at Hamilton, and he will stay at Cappielow until January.
After spending part of last season on-loan at Partick Thistle, it is the latest step for Nesbitt as he dedicates himself to becoming the best player that he can possibly be.
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While Nesbitt has justifiable confidence that he can soon make an impact on the Celtic first-team, he is not afraid to move out of his comfort zone if it will help him to achieve that goal.
“If you look at Raheem Sterling and the likes of Jordon Ibe, he went out on loan for the first six months of one season and when they brought him back he almost scored the winner against Everton in the derby and was man-of-the-match,” Nesbitt said.
“These are the kind of things I need to try and emulate, but it obviously gives me confidence to see what the manager’s done for young talent at Liverpool, and hopefully I can do the same.
“I spoke to him and he said that he thought it would be a good idea to come to Morton for six months. He says that Jim is a really good coach, and obviously during my time at the club I want to develop my game further before trying to push for a place in Celtic’s first-team.
“All I can do is keep trying to make myself better and keep developing my game, and hopefully when an opportunity comes along that I make sure I take it.
“I’ve got a three-year contract, so every single day I need to keep working hard and keep improving myself in the hope that I do get the opportunity.”
Nesbitt says that the atmosphere around Celtic Park and their Lennoxtown training base has been buoyant since the arrival of Rodgers in the summer, with the new coach’s methods being warmly received.
“It’s been excellent, absolutely fantastic,” he said.
“Obviously he’s come in and changed some things, and kept other things similar, but everyone is loving his coaching.
“We’re playing well, on game-day everybody is working for each other, and everyone is really looking forward to the rest of the season.”
As for the first half of his season, Nesbitt is looking to glean as much from the experience of working under Morton manager Jim Duffy as he possibly can.
A similar loan spell at Partick Thistle last season failed to yield as many minutes of first-team action as Nesbitt had hoped, but he is sure that the experience will set him in good stead for his stay in Greenock.
“I thought it was the right decision to go to Morton for six months to try and develop my game further, and I decided to take the opportunity,” he said.
“Jim Duffy had been asking Celtic about my availability, and over the weekend I took time to think about it.
“I’ve heard Jim Duffy is a real good coach and he is known for bringing through young players. If you look at the Morton team, the average age is very young.
“All of those factors played a part in my decision.
“I’d have liked to have played more games last season for Partick Thistle, but in the eight games I played in I took a lot out of it.
“I was up against good opposition, it was my first real time experiencing that kind of level of competitive football – the atmosphere, the expectations on you – so I’m hoping that what I did take out of that will help me in the next six months at Morton.”
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