CELTIC kid Ryan Christie wants a crack at the real thing after a summer rubbing shoulders with some of European football’s biggest names. The former Inverness Caley forward was in the starting line-up for Saturday’s International Champions Cup game against Inter Milan in Limerick, having come on as a substitute against Barcelona in Dublin the previous month.

Christie revelled in those opportunities to test himself against some of the best defenders in the world and now he is desperately hoping Celtic can make it through to the Champions League group stage so he can sample it for real.

Brendan Rodgers’ side take on Hapoel Be’er-Sheva at Parkhead in the first leg of their play-off tie on Wednesday, hoping for a lead to take to Israel for the return the following week. Having fallen at the final hurdle for the past two years, Christie hopes they can finally take their place at the top table alongside the cream of the continent.

Read more: Dedryck Boyata back and ready to make an impact for Celtic after ending injury hellGlasgow Times: Celtic's Ryan Christie and Inter Milan's Geoffrey Kondogbia battle for the ball during the International Champions Cup match at Thomond Park, Limerick.

The 21 year-old said: “I enjoyed playing against Inter and Barcelona. In those kinds of games you get the opportunity to learn so much against very good players. That will take on our game leaps and bounds. Playing against that calibre of teams and in big stadiums – these are the games that you want to be a part of.

"That feeling will only rise if we end up playing against them in the group stage of the Champions League. That’s the incentive for us all. We want to have matches of that magnitude right through the season. Wednesday is a huge game for the club.”

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Rodgers rang the changes for the trip to Ireland, leaving the majority of his established stars at home to rest. For those who played, like Christie, it provided a platform for them to demonstrate why they should stay in the team for the visit of the Israeli champions.

He added: “Everyone who was playing on Saturday night was trying to prove a point that we can definitely play a part against Hapoel. It almost felt like an audition with everyone trying to catch the eye of the manager to try to improve their chances of playing tomorrow. A lot of boys were rested at the weekend but those who played hopefully showed they are good enough to play a part in the Champions League.

“The manager made a lot of changes to our team but I’d say that shows the strength in depth we have this season. We got beat 2-0 but I think that flattered Inter with us losing a cheap goal right on half-time and then they were so deadly on the counter for their second. But apart from that I felt we kept the ball really well. To come up against a team like Inter and more than hold our own shows what we are capable of.

“We’re a lot more street smart now than we maybe were at the start of the season. Tactically the whole team has come on leaps and bounds since the start of the season in terms of pressing as a team and as individuals. Hopefully we’ll keep improving on that throughout the season.”