I have to say that one of the great regrets of my own career was that I never got to play in a World Cup.

It really is the pinnacle of any player’s career and there is no doubt that being in that kind of company is massively beneficial.

I was delighted to see that Dedryck Boyata made the final cut for the Belgian squad. He is in pretty special company when you take a look at their squad and I have no doubt that he will return to Celtic a better player for the experience.

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Not only is he getting the chance to go and see what a World Cup is all about but he will be training every day with some pretty outstanding talents. And you never know, wither. Vincent Kompany is there although given the season he has had you just don’t know how much he will play so it could be that Boyata is given his chance at some point in the tournament.

I have loads of time for him. I know that he has a mistake on him but I also think that he is the type of player who makes an error in a game and everyone points the finger but that when he has a good day no-one every really notices.

If he can eliminate some of the mistakes then I still think he can be a top talent and this month will be massive for him. He will learn so much just being in that environment.

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I know Roberto Martinez well and he is an outstanding coach. He clearly likes what he sees in Boyata and I wish him the very best luck over in Russia.

I also think that it is good for Scottish football that you have players over there who can fly the flag for the game. I am sure that the Celtic fans will all be rooting for Tom Rogic, Mikael Lustig and Cristian Gamboa. They will all be better player for having been exposed to that level of football and with the Champions League looming, this is the stage that you really want your players to be on. It is a challenge to pit your wits against the very best and the more often you do it, the better you get.