PAUL CADDIS is ready to become the Hoops hoodoo buster to solve Celtic's right back curse.

PAUL CADDIS is ready to become the Hoops hoodoo buster to solve Celtic's right back curse.

The highly rated 19-year-old finally made his competitive debut as a second-half substitute for Paul Hartley during the 1-0 win over Falkirk.

And he's hoping to beat the jinx that has seen four players fall victim to cruel luck in that position this season - and in time make the slot his own.

At the start of the season, Mark Wilson was expected to fill the role for most of the campaign.

He lasted just nine games before an injury picked up in a Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk in September forced him out of action - and he hasn't kicked a ball since.

Jean-Joel Doumbe took over for just three matches before he joined Wilson as a long-term crock after snapping his achilles. And, like Wilson, he has been permanently sidelined.

That has often forced Celtic gaffer Gordon Strachan to shuffle his pack to cover right back.

Darren O'Dea played there at Ibrox, Hartley filled in at times until he suffered a hamstring injury, and centre-half Gary Caldwell was asked to do a job in that slot for long spells this season.

BUT when Strachan shelled out £1.9m for German international Andreas Hinkel at the beginning of the month, he must have thought his days of worrying over who to use on the right of his four-man defence were over. Wrong.

In just his second appearance since signing from Seville, the curse seemed to have struck again as Hinkel was carried off with a thigh strain, forcing him out of Saturday's vital 1-0 win at the Falkirk Stadium.

So the door has now creaked open for Caddis ahead of tonight's SPL match against Motherwell at Fir Park.

But even he has been touched by the right-back hex factor - it prevented him making his debut a few months back.

He said: "When there were a few players out injured I was due to make my debut in a home game against Dundee United. But I needed an injection for a groin problem and wasn't fit to play.

"I didn't realise at the time I would be making my debut, but the manager told me afterwards during a meeting and that was obviously a major disappointment for me."

While Caddis is happy to stake a claim for a first-team slot, Hinkel's arrival convinced the youngster his chance had all but disappeared this season.

"When the manager signed Andreas I thought that was my opportunity gone," he admitted.

"But he also picked up an injury and Paul Hartley suffered a knock against Falkirk.

"So it was great to finally get out there and take part in a competitive game. For the manager to throw me into a vital game, with us just one goal ahead against Falkirk, was fantastic.

"Every game is so important just now and Saturday's match was a massive game for us. So it meant a lot that he trusted me to go out there and do a job for him under such circumstances."

For Caddis, it couldn't have came quickly enough. In and around the fringes of the first-team this season after excelling as captain of Celtic's Under-19 side, it's been a case of playing the waiting game.

While playing in friendly fixtures, such as the one against Newcastle United at St James' Park this summer, have helped prepare Caddis for the top team, it's no substitute for the real deal.

He said: "I started against Newcastle in a pre-season friendly and came on as a sub against Parma and Peterbrough but there is nothing like playing in a competitive game.

"I've not actually played for the reserves since November, so Saturday was my first game in a while. But I felt good and it was nice to leave the pitch knowing I had helped us take three points."

As a lifelong Hoops fan, Caddis has achieved his lifetime ambition to play for his boyhood heroes in a competitive game.

But the reason he has come so far in the game - and is rated so highly apart from his natural ability and enthusiasm - is his hunger and drive.

And while one target was reached at the weekend, he has immediately set himself a new one.

"I'm now hoping to play from the start," said Caddis. "We've got a big match against Motherwell tonight at Fir Park and it would be great if I could make the starting line-up for that. That's what I'm hoping for.

"It's just about working hard, performing well in training and making as good a case for myself as possible. Once you are in the team then you should remain there if you are playing well enough."