ATTITUDE can make or break the career of any aspiring footballer, even before it has begun.

It is refreshing, therefore, to sit down with Tony Watt and listen to him try manfully to steer the conversation away from the goal he scored to help Celtic defeat Barcelona and instead chastise himself for the relatively poor performances he has delivered since he announced himself on the Champions League stage.

Yet it was an attitude problem of sorts which indirectly brought him to Parkhead. Not his, but that of Liverpool, the club which had jumped ahead of Celtic in the queue to sign the then 16-year-old who was rapidly making a name for himself at Airdrie United.

Had the Anfield club shown a bit more interest in the teenager when he arrived on a three-day trial, it might all have been a very different boys-own story. However, Watt felt unnoticed. Now, thanks to his goal against Barca, the football world knows who he is.

As he settled into Celtic's mid-season break base camp in the Costa Del Sol, the striker reflected on how his underwhelming experience on Merseyside opened the door to his meteoric rise at Parkhead. "I went down to Liverpool for three days," Watt recalled. "It was good. I'd never seen anything like it in all my life. The pitches were unbelievable, and the facilities. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

"To be fair, I didn't really like the attitude of some of the coaches and the way they treated you. I was just like another fish in the pond to them, just another trialist. I trained with their youth team and played against Wolves, but I was unfit. They were all a little bit older than me and full-time professionals and I was still playing part-time with Airdrie. I did okay, but nothing special."

Back home and disillusioned by the entire experience, the call from Celtic to try out with them was welcomed and the opportunity grasped with both hands. Ironically, it was in a match against Liverpool that Watt did enough to convince Celtic to make their move, as well as rekindling the Anfield club's interest.

"I did very well in that game," said Watt. "Liverpool were interested again but Celtic got it done quickly. I was made to feel really welcome from the first day."

Watt joined on a contract which has since been upgraded to reward the progress he has made, a move also designed to protect Celtic's interests as the teenagers exploits had brought him to the attention of clubs across Europe. However, while some might be tempted to kick back once that lucrative new deal is signed, Watt's intention is to kick on and improve even more.

"Maybe the talks wouldn't have gone as quickly if I hadn't scored against Barcelona," he said of his contract, which runs for four years. "It's out the way, now I need to keep building and building. I've not been playing well and hardly featuring, so I need to work even more to impress the gaffer.

"He has given me chances, but I need to do more to keep playing. I'm up against [Georgios] Samaras, [Gary] Hooper, Lassad [Nouioui] and Miku for a game. Anthony Stokes is coming back, too, and he's an excellent striker.

"I can't go about with the attitude 'I'm the best, I can do what I want'. If you behave like that, the only way is down. There was interest in me down south before but I don't want to leave Celtic. I'm happy where I am. It's where I want to be. This is the only club I want to be with."

Not just as a squad player, either. "I want to make a name for myself and have people saying, 'Tony Watt had a good seven or eight or 10 years at Celtic," he added.

Whatever he might do in that time, Watt's will forever be remembered for his goal against Barca. He had to adjust to having his name mentioned and exploits shown across the world. "At first I didn't believe it was me, but I soon realised I'd need to deal with it," he said. "Hopefully, I can do more things like that in my career."

It is doubtful, however, he will do anything more significant. "I've not watched a re-run of the game many times," said Watt. "Maybe if my mum and dad are watching it I'll sit with them. But it's not as if I go out of my way to watch it."

The instant fame is no albatross, however, and the impressively mature kid, who is in the throws of moving out of his parents' house to a place of his own, handles it well. "Maybe that will turn out to be the best week of my life, scoring the winner against Barca and signing a new deal," he said. "But, hopefully, I can get a league winner's medal this season."