Lewis’s star is on the rise Bell wants to be in Rodgers’plans
Winners
An East Kilbride youngster has set his sights on getting f i r s t t eam experience at Celtic after winning a league and cup double for the youth side.
Midfielder Lewis Bell (17) from St Leonards lifted the league and Glasgow Cup for the Celtic Under17s as captain and is hoping take the next step next season.
The chance for youngsters at Celtic has been emphasised by t he s uccess of l ef t- back Keiran Tierney – who since the start of last season has progressed from the youth ranks to regular first-team starter as well as claiming his first Scotland cap.
With new boss Brendan Rodgers taking the helm, Lewis has set his sights on continuing to produce good performances next season for the under-17s, moving to the under-20s and maybe even the first team.
He told the News: “It was a good year and two trophies was the aim at the start of the season.
“For me it’s just about improving. I want to fight for a place in the under-20s next season and hope to catch the eye, and try and get a chance to train with the first team.”
Lewis’s young Celts lifted the league title after a thumping 5-0 win at New Douglas Park, as well as picking up the Glasgow Cup at Ibrox in front of thousands of supporters in a 4-0 win.
He t hinks t he experiences of a closely fought campaign have helped him improve as a player.
He is now enjoying a couple of weeks off for before pre-season kicks in, and is hoping for more success next term.
“We had a c o upl e o f s hake y re s ul t s t owards t he e nd of t he s e a s on, but we a c hi e v e d what we set out to do and won when it mattered”, said Lewis.
“It was a good campaign, and I learned a lot. Around Christmas t i me i t f e l t l i k e we were re a l l y growing up and learning a lot, and turned into a real team. What we all want is to improve and try and establish ourselves next season.”