Colby Donovan has opened up on his rise from the Celtic academy to the first team and the ambition he still has at the club.
For Donovan, though, simply making it this far was never the full aim.
He said: (Premier Sports), “It’s a dream come true for me. To come through, since the age of seven I’ve been here.
“I used to go to Barrowfield to train three times a week and then, coming through as a young boy, you train at Barrowfield and you look over and you see Celtic Park in the distance.
“It was a big dream of mine to come through and play for the club, but not only play sometimes. I wanted to be there, I wanted to be known as a first-team player regularly for Celtic and hopefully, in the years to come, become a legend at the club.”
That says plenty about how Donovan sees his current position.
He is clearly enjoying the run he has been given, but there is no sense that he sees a few appearances as enough.
“I’m loving every minute of it,” he added.
“If you were to tell me where I’d be now, I’d probably bite your hand off for it.”
Martin O’Neill has also been full of praise for Donovan and, in particular, the way he has handled his step into the first team.
The Celtic manager said: “If anybody deserves to do well in his professional career, Colby Donovan is that fellow.
“He really is a fantastic lad. He’s incredibly popular with the whole, not just the staff, but obviously with his teammates.
“Really great, great lad. Really, really great lad.
“He’s got the heart and the size of a lion and that will stand him in great stead during his career.”
That trust from the manager has helped Donovan settle into the side.
The defender says he goes into games without fear and simply focuses on the job he has been given.
“You’ve got to be, as a young player, you’ve got to have confidence,” he said.
“If you weren’t at the capability that you are, the manager wouldn’t have put you in.
“For me going into games, there’s never any fear. There’s always just, it’s another game and I know the job to do.”
He said: “Gaffer’s brilliant with me. He always tells me when I’m doing good and he always lets me know when I’m not doing so good, when you need to know.
“He’s been brilliant with me. He’s given me a chance to go out there and do everything I can for the club.
“Gaffer’s, he’s one of the best to ever be here, so there’s no better man to hear that coming from him.”
For a player who grew up looking across at Celtic Park from Barrowfield, the move into the first team has come quickly.
Now that he is there, Donovan sounds determined to stay there.
As he put it himself: “When you learn, you’re learning from the best.”
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