From HUMBLE beginnings come GREAT things

Roberts had nightmare start in league and in Europe but he has bounced back to be a big player in Rodgers’ Invincibles

PATRICK ROBERTS is living proof that first impressions can be wildly misleading. Take his Old Firm debut. Freshly signed on loan from Manchester City, the winger was instructed to torment Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final of 2016 but instead participated in an embarrassing display by missing an open goal.

Such was the humiliation felt by the Celtic board as they lost to their city rivals on penalties, that Ronny Deila lost his job and Brendan Rodgers was appointed manager.

And the winger fared little better when handed his first big-stage start by Rodgers in Barcelona.

Roberts admits he was a lost Bhoy on his Champions League debut as his right-sided partnership with Cristian Gamboa was ripped to shreds in a 7-0 defeat.

‘I don’t think I touched the ball much that night because I was too busy following Neymar,’ he recalls.

Since then, the Brazilian has gone on to become the most expensive player on the planet, while Roberts attracts almost as much hysteria from Celtic fans who have fallen in love with his slaloming wing play.

By the end of the Champions League campaign last December, he was strutting around the Etihad Stadium and sending a message to his parent club Manchester City and manager Pep Guardiola with a fine individual goal.

Similarly, a year on from that false start against Rangers, he could be found running rings round the same opposition in a 5-1 victory at Ibrox.

At the club’s annual awards dinner, proceedings had to be temporarily suspended to allow a spontaneous chant of the 20-year-old’s name to play out among the black-tie audience. Not bad for a loan player.

Roberts’ return on another seasonlong contract from City was the most enthusiastically-received news of the transfer window just closed.

The guarantee of a fresh crack at the Champions League was key in persuading City to let him return to Glasgow for another year and he’s looking forward to renewing acquaintances with Neymar as Paris Saint-Germain visit on opening night on Tuesday week. Roberts has not been brought back simply to help the club match last season’s Treble-winning domestic form, though, and having started only two of last term’s group games, he believes he is far better prepared to cope with Europe’s elite this time.

‘Champions League football is a dream for most young players and for me to get that here is special, so I won’t take it for granted,’ he says.

‘Last year it was all very quick. The season kicked off, we just about qualified, getting past Be’er Sheva, and it was hard to take it all in.

‘We went to Barcelona and, well, that’s the type of team you are up against. That’s why it is the best competition in the world.

‘Neymar was on the left and I was on the right that night, so I had to help out my full-back. It was a good experience but it also makes you realise that you want to be playing at the highest level — so you don’t have to be tracking back!

‘Hopefully I’ll have more of those experiences in the Champions League. I think we will be better equipped this time around.

‘After Borussia Monchengladbach away I recall the manager saying the first year was about learning and seeing what the competition was like. Now, we are Invincible, we’ve won the Treble and that’s something that is not done often.

‘We go in this year with more experience and better quality.’

While Odsonne Edouard will require some assimilation after their deadline-day moves, Roberts will slot straight into a dressing-room where he is already unanimously popular.

His bond with fellow youngster Kieran Tierney is especially tight.

‘When I first came in Kieran was breaking through and I was unlucky enough to sit next to him in the changing room,’ jokes Roberts. ‘I sat next to him all year and he helped me come to terms with playing for Celtic. Everyone knows how he feels about this club.

‘He made me feel at home and it’s a joy to play with someone like that, a guy you get on so well with. He’s one of my best mates now and that makes me enjoy my football more and enjoy life off the pitch as well.’

Celtic kicked out a bid from Arsenal for Tierney 12 months ago but the left-back’s powerful and mature performances have kept him on the radar of England’s top clubs. Roberts, however, offers first-hand proof of why it’s preferable to be playing regularly at Celtic than stuck in a queue for the substitute’s bench down south.

Already a Scotland regular who has shown versatility at international level, Roberts believes his pal has all the tools to succeed at the very highest level but sees no reason for him to uproot for the time being.

‘I’ve seen a lot of young full-backs in England but for his age and his maturity, Kieran’s incredible,’ he added. ‘He’s right up there with the best. His potential is massive and he’s got a big future in the game. He’ll go to the very top.

‘You see stories about Kieran in the media all the time and the reality is he’s an exceptional player, so big clubs will be looking at him. But he’s a Celtic lad and he wants to play for this club. He’s enjoying his football, like me, and he just wants to play as many games as he can.

‘I’ve decided my immediate future is at Celtic and Kieran is the same.

‘This is the best place for him right now. Boys like us don’t do this as a job — he’s a fan of this club.

‘Kieran’s watched young boys here before and he’s wanted to be like them. Now he’s living that dream

‘I DON’T THINK I TOUCHED THE BALL IN THE NOU CAMP. I WAS TOO BUSY CHASING NEYMAR’

and he’s even been skipper a few times.

‘His love of Celtic has probably rubbed off on me. I think he’s got a Celtic duvet!

‘I’m joking, he’ll kill me for saying that. But he loves Celtic, he’s been born into it with his mum and dad.’

Celtic was not City’s preferred destination for Roberts and they sat him in front of delegations from Nice and Girona this summer before eventually relenting and allowing him to return to Glasgow.

‘Those clubs appealed in different ways but for me it was all about development and where I thought I could best improve,’ he explains. ‘I’m really young and there’s a total of years in which I want to play at the highest level I can. With the manager and the players here, I feel I can do that.’ He has been rewarded with the club’s iconic No 7 shirt, worn previously by Jimmy Johnstone and Henrik Larsson, and having thought carefully before accepting the jersey, he will not wear it lightly. ‘I guess Celtic just grips you,’ he says. ‘It’s a big family club and everybody here loves the club. ‘When I was younger I had strips, although I think that was just because I liked the green and white. ‘Maybe that was an early sign of where I was headed. It’s a massive honour for me to wear the shirt.’