CELTIC have offered Scotland Under-19 kid Joe Thomson a new contract, but the midfielder has admitted he needs to get some game time soon.

Thomson was part of Scot Gemmill's squad who bowed out of the Euro Elite Round in Croatia this week after a win against Bulgaria, which followed defeats to Belgium and the hosts.

The 19-year-old featured this season for Ronny Deila's side at the start of the season, but faces an uphill battle to get noticed in the Hoops' bloated squad, with the champions' midfield area particularly strong.

And he's admitted he needs to be playing somewhere next season, even if he has to go out on loan, to stop himself stagnating.

Thomson said: "Celtic have a lot of midfielders, which everyone knows. You can’t give up or lose hope.

" It might be that I need to go out on loan to get first-team football. I definitely need to be playing some sort of first-team football next season so hopefully someone takes a chance on me.

"It’s definitely not hard to stay motivated, not when you’re at Celtic. You never know where hard work can take you. You have to give your all in training every day. Aidan Nesbitt, Kieran Tiernan and I train with the first team every day.

"You need to win the right to do anything at Celtic. It’s Scotland’s biggest club, with the best players so nothing’s handed to you. It’s a step up when you work with the first team but I really enjoy it.

"The manager and John Collins watch the Under-20s play every week and that gives those games an added edge. They’ve even taken the team on a few occasions, which means you can never drop off or allow your standards to slip. They’re taking an interest, which all the lads appreciate.

"The manager is understanding and he cares about the players as individuals. He respects what you want and if I decided the best thing for me was to go out on loan then I’m sure he would support that. The final decision would, rightly, be his. I’d sit down with him and talk it through."

Scotland bowed out early of the Croatian tournament, but Thomson insists the experience was all part of his learning process for him.

He said: "I think we can take a lot of positives from the games. We should have had six points. It’s only three but there have been a lot of good individual performances from the boys and it’s all valuable experience."