HE could one day fill Scott Brown's boots, but Liam Henderson is just happy to follow in his captain's footsteps at Celtic.

As role-models go, the young midfielder has found himself a good tutor as he take his first strides into the Parkhead limelight.

It has been some few weeks for the 17-year-old as he has won a place in Neil Lennon's side and helped the Hoops to three-in-a-row with a goal at Firhill on the night the title was clinched.

Henderson still has some way to go to match the achievements of the man he partners in the middle of the park, with Brown a reliable performer on the international and European stages and the proud owner of eight winners' medals.

But the Parkhead protege is confident he is on the right road to success thanks to words of wisdom from the Celtic skipper.

"Scott Brown has been great with me," Henderson said. "We play the same position and we're from the same area so it's great to have someone like that around.

"He's really helped me in so many ways and he's the captain of the club too.

"I know Scott was 17 when he made his debut and I'd say I maybe had the same feeling when I made my debut in that you are nervous during the warm-up and maybe the first five or ten minutes, but after that the game is just like playing football with my mates at school, I just go out and enjoy myself.

"Scott talks me through every game and only encourages me when I make a mistake, which is great when you are a young player.

"Sometimes when the ball goes out of play he'll stop and try and have a laugh with me which makes me relax."

It is not just on the field where Henderson is determined to excel: he is learning all the time on and off the park as he hits the books as well as the the training pitch.

His father Nicky turned out for Partick Thistle, Falkirk and Hamilton Accies and the next big name to emerge from the Henderson household is well aware nothing can be taken for granted in football.

"My dad knows what it's like to have a career in football but I wanted to stick in at school because you never know what's going to happen in life," the Celtic starlet said.

"I'm doing my Highers just now so it's good to have ­something to fall back on. I've always been a Celtic fan but I think it wasn't a case of my heart ruling my head.

"I thought long and hard about coming here because I was at Hearts at the time, but I knew that not only would I get the chance to play for the club I supported but I'd get the training and support which is the best in Scotland."

Henderson's rise to the Parkhead spotlight is too late for him to get an SPFL Premiership medal when Celtic lift the title in a couple of weeks.

But the midfielder is determined to get his hands on silverware and help John Kennedy's second string to glory in the not too distant future.

"All the boys I grew up with play in the U20s so being part of that team means so much to me, even though I've played in the first team too," Henderson told the Celtic View.

"I really want to win the league with them and I'm hoping to play a few more games with them."