I’ve not moved to Celtic to get taken aloan of
Morgan is a man in a hurry to impress as he targets place in Rodgers’s first team right away
LEWIS MORGAN is adamant he’s not joining Celtic just to be shipped straight back out on loan.
The 21-year-old winger is convinced he can break into Brendan Rodgers’s line-up next term immediately after signing from St Mirren.
Morgan was the best player of the second tier this term having scooped the PFA Championship Player of the Year award while helping his Paisley side to a title triumph.
But Celtic is a massive step up and the youngster knows it.
Parkhead history is littered with young players who have signed up and then had to take time before breaking through.
Callum McGregor, instrumental in the chase for the double treble, had a spell at Notts County.
At the moment individuals such as Ryan Christie and Anthony Ralston are working away from Parkhead to gain experience and try to make the improvements and development necessary to hold down places in the future.
But Morgan is hoping he can hit the ground running and earn a place in Rodgers’s plans from the outset.
He said: “Every player is different. When I signed I didn’t think of others who have signed and not managed to make it work out.
“I just believed in myself and that I could go and make an impact.
“I do believe that and the manager spoke well to me. He told me what he wants from me and it’s something I’m looking forward to working in.
“Obviously I watched Celtic last Sunday against Rangers and they were outstanding all over the park.
“I know they have many options and there are proper top players there.
“I’m going to really need to push myself to get into it but these are players I can learn from and take my game to the next level.
“I’m looking forward to it and if I wasn’t confident I could get in there I wouldn’t have made the move.
“I know it will be tough but I’ll be working with a management team and a squad of players who want to improve and I’ll look to keep up with them as well.”
Morgan knows if he’s good enough he’ll get his chances, as Jack Hendry has done since signing from Dundee in January.
He added: “I know from the manager’s past experiences he has always wanted to bring through young players and not just at Celtic.
“He’s said he wouldn’t be signing me for the sake of it.
“It’s great what Jack has done. He’s gone into Celtic after making a big move from Dundee and he’s done brilliantly to get into the team and play as many minutes as he has done.
“Celtic are the top team in the country at the moment and it’s the nature of it that it’s hard to break into the line-up.
“But I just need to push myself on and bang the door down to get it.
“I’ve kept in contact with the manager. I texted to congratulate him on their success last Sunday and it was vice versa.
“Hopefully I can rest up and relax in the summer. I’m going into Celtic to get assessed so they can prepare a preseason but I’m not sure what’s happening with training.
“I think they’re keen for me to rest up. It’s been a long season playing each week and they want to make sure I’m going to be ready for next year.”
While Morgan is eyeing an exciting future he’s also able to reflect on a sensational spell at Saints.
Despite agreeing his switch to Parkhead five months ago the decision was taken for him to stay with Jack Ross’s Buddies and help finish the title job he started at the beginning of the season. Morgan said: “It was spoken about before the deal went through that I knew I was going to be staying at St Mirren.
“It was easy to get my head around and I don’t think the season could have gone any better if you look at the success of both of the clubs.
“What helped with that is I’m working with a manager who is so passionate and a bunch of players who wouldn’t have let standards drop.
“I knew a club like St Mirren don’t let standards drop as well but I’m not that type anyway. “It’s a really exciting team at St Mirren so if I wasn’t performing I wouldn’t have been playing and that made it easier. To win the Championship Player of the Year award was a fitting end.”
Morgan is likely to face Saints next season and he is confident his old club can make an impact on their return to the top flight.
He added: “Naturally progression from Championship to Premiership means there is going to be a turnover of players at the club.
“Rightly so because the Premiership is a different animal.
Manager has said he wouldn’t be signing me for the sake of it LEWIS MORGAN
“The manager and the players are that good, they’re not just the 13th best team in the country.
“They’ll go into the Premiership thinking they can do better than most people expect.
“If they can keep the manager and the core of the squad there’s no reason why they can’t kick on and surprise people next season.”
ALEX McLEISH has revealed Celtic new boy Lewis Morgan could land a shock call-up for the upcoming clashes against Peru and Mexico.
The national team manager is eyeing a host of options as he looks to build a strong squad for the double header on May 29 and June 2.
McLeish has instructed SFA letters to be sent to a variety of players intended for inclusion in the trip.
While Record Sport understands Morgan is not part of that original list, the Scotland boss says the Parkhead kid, who has