LEWIS Smith, the teenage Hamilton midfielder who impressed in his first appearance against Celtic on Saturday, was quick to dismiss the comparisons his manager Brian Rice made between him and his opponent Ryan Christie after the match.

“That’s really nice,” said the youngster, who made his Scotland Under-21 debut in their 2-0 win over San Marino in a Euro 2021 qualifier in Paisley earlier this month, when informed what Rice had said. “But I think I have wee bit to go for that.”

Smith, though, has admitted the Ladbrokes Premiership match against the Parkhead club at the Fountain of Youth Stadium this weekend has shown him what it will take to scale the same heights as Christie and his team mates in future.

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“It was really good to be involved because that is ultimately where you want to be, that level of player,” he said. “They are all Scotland internationals so hopefully one day I can be the same.”

Few who were in South Lanarkshire on Saturday will bet against him doing so in future; Smith helped Hamilton to recover from conceding a goal in just the fourth minute and give Celtic a serious scare.

The 19-year-old, who received the Man of the Match award at the end of the 90 minutes, was pleased with how the home team responded after falling behind early on and disappointed they didn’t end up with a point to show for their efforts.

“You are never happy with a defeat,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it is 1-0 or 3-0. In the end we could have nicked it if the ball had fallen to us or we got a bit lucky. It was just not our day.

“But when we conceded the first goal it was important that we just stuck in and did not concede another one quickly. I thought we did that really well. We stood up and were counted.

“Then in the second half the gaffer allowed us to be a bit braver and take the game to them and I thought we did that. We switched to a back four and put two up front for a bit. It was not as if we were taking the 1-0. We are never going to be happy with a defeat.

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“Losing a goal early is never going to be good, but against Celtic of all teams it is not going to be easy. You can crumble or you can stand up and be counted and I thought we did that really well.”

Smith, who is the latest product of the Hamilton youth set-up to force his way into the first team, admitted squaring up to the likes of Scott Brown had taken it out of him.

But he stressed that he had enjoyed the experience and is optimistic that Rice will continue to give him and other kids who impress a chance going forward.

“It was a shift,” he said. “I was glad the gaffer had faith in me to play me. I thought I did okay. You want to play in every game, but especially these ones.

“He (Rice) always talks to you and says if you keep working hard you will get your chances. That’s been true. George Cairns (head of youth) is always speaking to you and keeping you motivated if you are not playing. But this year I am really grateful that I have been playing.”

Asked about Smith, Rice said: “I have known about him for about two or three years, but I think in the last seven or eight months he has kicked on and grown.

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“His confidence has got higher and the players trust him obviously. I think you saw a young man who, if he continues to work hard and train like he plays, has got a wee chance.

“He is one kid who nothing will faze. He won’t go big time, he is a very quiet level headed kid. I am delighted with him.

“He is a joy to work with but it is down to him. I can give him the platform but he has to perform on it. Right now he is enjoying it and I enjoy watching him. I thought he did very, very well on Saturday.”