Joe Chalmers, Motherwell's first summer recruit, will use the example of his former Celtic team-mate and Scotland internationalist Andy Robertson as he seeks to make a name for himself at Fir Park this season.

The 21-year-old left-back spent more than a decade at Celtic, joining the club as a 10-year-old and playing in the same youth teams as Robertson. Persistent groin and hip injuries robbed Chalmers of the opportunity to make an impression on Celtic manager Ronny Deila last season, but having accepted the requirement to move on in a bid to play regular football he is keen to follow the same path as his mate.

Robertson's services are currently courted by Aston Villa after impressing this season with Hull. The left-back was released by Celtic aged 15 as the Parkhead club felt he was too small, a judgement call that the player has since emphatically rebuked. Chalmers is keen to heed the lesson.

"Andy and I played in the same Celtic team. We are still good mates and my Mum and his Mum still chat to one another too," said Chalmers. "Obviously you never want to compare yourself against anyone but he has shown that it can be done. The success that he has had has been unbelievable. To have gone from Celtic to Queen's Park and then all the way to the full national team is brilliant and it shows that sometimes when you take a step back you then begin to move forward.

"He text me on Wednesday night when he heard about the move just to wish me luck. He thinks it will be a good move for me and I am just really looking forward to trying to play first-team football every week.

"There are loads of guys who have gone on to find their feet once they have moved on and I hope that I can follow in their footsteps.

"The main thing for me now, though, is just to focus on getting myself into the first-team here."

There will be a few familiar faces for Chalmers at Motherwell already. Stephen McManus undertook his coaching badges when he was still a Celtic player and it was with Chalmers' youth side that the veteran defender went to work with.

"When I was playing for the Under-14s, Stephen had just started doing his coaching badges and he used to take us, so I knew him well from that time," he explained. "He's still good friends with John Kennedy, who coached me through the ranks and Stephen was one of the first people to come up to me when I arrived at the club."

Chalmers' remit now will be in assuming the role that Steven Hammell has occupied with some distinction at Motherwell. And the 21-year-old believes he will have to earn the right to feature in Fir Park first-team. Having had to kick his heels for so long at Celtic, the defender is desperate for the chance to get his boots on every week as he attempts to assert himself at first-team level.

"He's a legend here and I'm not coming in thinking that it's going to be easy," he said. "But I'll work my socks off and show what I have. Steven has been here for years and showed what a cracking player he is in both legs against Rangers. He still has a lot to offer, so I'll need to get my head down work hard.

"I enjoyed every minute of my time at Celtic but there's always a right time to move on and this is it. I'm delighted to be here - this is where I can kick-start my career. Motherwell always seemed to be a good option and it's good to have everything sorted so soon after leaving Celtic - now I can relax and enjoy the rest of my summer."