Having seen the other side, Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain is determined to make the most of his shot at the big time.

Discarded by Aberdeen at the age of 19 without playing a single game for the Pittodrie side, Bain found himself on building sites in all weathers as he sought to eek out a living while combining joinery work with part-time football.

“I was released and had to go part-time and get a job,” he explained. “From that I just look at it all and feel I’ve got to enjoy it. I’ve been at the bottom, the scrapheap as you would call it. Any time, even at Dundee after coming from Alloa, you have to just try and make the most of it. You don’t know how long it’s going to last, do you?”

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It might last a little longer at Celtic than he would have imagined.

Bain is unique in that he does not have the sanitised background that so many of his fellow professionals have as they have come through the ranks at academies with every need catered for.

It is something he believes has helped to shape him as both a footballer and a person.

“I used to work from eight to four, Monday to Friday, but on a Tuesday and Thursday I’d also go to Alloa and train from seven to half nine. I’d be back home about half 10, go to sleep and up the next day for tan eight to four.

“I actually really enjoyed it and it stood me in good stead.

“I was a labourer for the first year and the second year I helped two boys out with building kits for houses and I really enjoyed it. Apart from the winter!

“But I remember, I think it was three days in and we did the big joinery job on a Cala Homes site - five, six bedroomed houses - and the forklift driver brought over a pallet of plasterboard sheets and there were 72 sheets on a pallet.

“I had to load them into the house. I loaded them in and I thought I was done for the day. But then the forklift driver told me there was another four pallets-full to be sorted!

“At that point I’m thinking ‘Nah, this isn’t for me.’

“I actually loaded the flat I line in just now with plasterboard sheets. So I can go round and tell them what I think of the joinery work!”

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If those foundations enabled him to build a decent career, Bain’s story still has a touch of the fairytale. A fall-out with Dundee manager Neil McCann at the start of this season saw the player exiled to train alone, regularly making the journey from Edinburgh to Dundee to go through his paces.

From there he headed to Easter Road on a loan deal but didn’t play a game for Hibs before Celtic took him in January. Having gone from fearing that his career was coming to a premature close, Bain is now in the enviable position of having multiple options.

“It was difficult at Dundee,” he said. “I’m not going to lie, when I knew my contract was coming to an end this season. I thought if I’m still at Dundee then it’s going to be hard to get another club because you’re forgotten about quickly in football.

“However, I’ve always had confidence in my ability and when I found out there was interest from Hibs I just had to keep my head down and get through it. Obviously, though, I didn’t expect that to land me here.”

Bain is assured of having a choice to make this summer. It is understood that Celtic would like to keep him, while there have been interest too from his boyhood team, Hearts and Hibs. There are also believed to be clubs south of the border keeping tabs on his situation.

“I want to stay here, I love it here,” said the keeper. “Me being here, I can reach my full potential. I don’t think there’s a ceiling at this club, you can go as high as you can possibly go — the staff, the manager, [Stevie] Woods and all the other goalkeepers I’m working with.

“And obviously my team-mates. So, yes, I’d love to stay here.

“I’ve only had quick conversations here and there. It’s still at an early stage. For me it’s just about building on the last two games and trying to get as much game-time as possible.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve not had that in depth a chat here. But it’s good to know that Neil Lennon saw ability in me while I was there and is keen to take me back. It shows he’s got a level of trust in me.”

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Bain is expected to start against Ross County this afternoon but he will be required to hand the gloves over for Wednesday night’s game against Dundee. The Dens Park side remain his parent club and he will not be allowed to feature against them.

Going back to the stand might be a sobering experience after recent weeks but the player has admitted that when he first arrived at Celtic in January he wasn’t sure that he would ever make an appearance.

“It did go through my mind a bit,” he said. “When you first come to a club this size from the situation I was in it’s going to go through your head. But they wanted me to come and that was a big confidence boost.

“It was always going to be hard to get in with goalkeepers like Dorus de Vries and obviously Craig Gordon.

“But I think once you get your chance you just need to enjoy it and try to take it.

“Just being around the place has pushed me on to another level. I hadn’t played a game for a long time before I suddenly had the chance at Ibrox. People were probably a bit nervous about that.

“But if they’d actually come in and watched me training day to day then they would’ve known I was fine just to come in. The standard’s so high, the players are so good. Woodsy also ensures such a high standard.

“It meant when I went in I felt comfortable with the situation.”