AIDAN NESBITT has told Celtic he is out to follow Kieran Tierney’s example and fight for a first-team place.

The winger is poised to return to Lennoxtown this summer following a loan spell at high-flying Morton and he is determined to proof his worth to Brendan Rodgers and land a spot in his side.

At just the age of 20, Nesbitt has gained valuable first-team experience. A stint at Partick Thistle last season has been followed up with a full campaign under Jim Duffy at Cappielow, who has thrown the left-sided talent into 40 games on the way to a play-off finish.

And now last year’s Celtic Academy Player of the Year is ready to transfer that work and effort into following Tierney from the youth ranks at Celtic into the Parkhead spot light.

“You take inspiration from the other guys,” he told SportTimes. “Kieran has been arguably Celtic’s best player for two seasons now. He’s still 19, only just turning 20.

“Kieran is the perfect example of if you are given a chance and take it then that’s you cemented into the team.

“It’s coming to the end of the season and a few of the boys are getting a chance. They did really well last week and will be going into pre-season the same as me looking to push and press trying to get into the first-team.”

Nesbitt feels he is ready to prove his worth to Rodgers.

Going out to play senior football at a high level has brought the Scotland U21 kid on leaps and bounds. It was a similar route to first-team success used by Callum McGregor who spent time down at Ross County before making a splash under Ronny Deila and now the current manager.

“I’m happy with the progress I’ve made here so I’m looking forward to going back and seeing what I can do,” said Nesbitt.

“I was at Thistle the previous season and I now feel I’m ready. I’ll need to speak to the gaffer.

“Obviously Celtic are doing amazingly well right now. The players are fantastic. But anything can happen.

“You can go in, work hard, have a good few training sessions, impress in a game and then anything can happen.

“I’m looking to do as best as I can, speak to the gaffer and see what my options are. I have another two years on my deal so if I need to go out for a wee while then that may be what needs to be, but I want to play for Celtic.

“I will do my best to get into the team.”

Coming back to the present, Nesbitt’s Morton dream came to a sad end on Friday night under the floodlights at Tannadice.

A tremendous effort from Duffy’s team earned them a shot at play-off glory against all the odds, but their dreams would be shattered as Dundee United ran out 5-1 winners over the two quarter-final legs.

Nesbitt insists pride can be taken from their efforts, even if they won’t be the side going forward to meet the Premiership’s 11th-placed team in a nerve-jangling play-off final.

“It’s been a brilliant season. You need to look at that,” he said after Friday’s 3-0 second leg defeat on Tayside. “We are obviously really disappointed with the way it finished at Tannadice but we pushed hard.

“They scored a goal at the start of the second half on Friday night and because that put them two up in the tie the can relax a bit. That makes it hard for us.

“There is disappointment but we can be proud looking back on the season.”

It was a fate perhaps expected of a Morton team that had punched above its weight for most of the campaign.

They also appeared to be a side running out of energy. Their last win came back in the middle of March and, despite taking the lead against United in Tuesday’s first leg, always looked like they would struggle to up their game once more.

“I don’t know if it was tiredness,” insisted Nesbitt. “The last few weeks a few of us were rested looking forward to the play-offs. On Tuesday night I couldn’t play because I was unwell. Overall I think the lads were alright.

“I think it was just because the season was coming to an end, we were safe, the team was changing and that makes it hard to keep momentum up.”

Reflecting on his time at Cappielow, Nesbitt refused to rule out returning if Rodgers believed it was the best thing for his development.

“I’ve enjoyed myself and loved my time here,” he said. “You need to look at all the options because there are different stages and options that will be better for your career.

“But I would definitely think about it.”