Christie is ready and w illing to face

RYAN CHRISTIE says he is ready, willing and able to freshen up Celtic’s shell-shocked side at Inverness this afternoon.

The Hoops crashed to their heaviestever European defeat on Tuesday night.

With several of their regulars feeling the mental and physical strains of chasing Messi and Suarez-shaped shadows in the Nou Camp, manager Brendan Rodgers plans to make changes for the visit to face Caley Thistle.

Of those players standing by, none looks more likely than Christie, who starred for the Caley Jags for two years before making the switch to Celtic Park in 2015.

“I hope to feature. It’s up to me to keep myself fit, so I’m ready to come in when the manager needs me,” he said.

“I do feel I am developing at Celtic. The gaffer has been brilliant since he came in and even the training is played at an intensity.

“The football is good, the tactics are helping us and it’s been good working with him.

“I played and scored against St Johnstone and it’s always nice to get off the mark early in the season.

“I need to add goals to my game and, hopefully, Inverness will be another chance to do that.”

Whether he features or not, Christie is intrigued to get his first look at Richie Foran the manager, with his former team-mate appointed as Jags boss in the summer.

“I am looking forward to the trip in general and it will be especially interesting going back to see Richie,” he said.

“I always thought he would become a manager. Anyone who played with him would say the same.

“I say that because he has those leadership qualities you need. He’s a natural-born leader and it was the right decision to push him up to that position.”

If Foran’s haul of four points from the first five games hasn’t been exactly the start he would have hoped for,