Celtic player called in as late loan hero ‘pleased’ with last minute outing

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Celtic have found it a tad difficult to hand out minutes to the younger players in recent years.

The Celtic trophy cabinet needs fed and to ensure title after title, it’s experience and strength that is needed to consistently win in the Scottish Premiership.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	30	24	3	3	89	20	69	75
2	RangersRangers	30	19	5	6	62	28	34	62
3	HibernianHibernian	30	11	11	8	45	41	4	44
4	AberdeenAberdeen	30	12	7	11	38	46	-8	43

Some Celtic youngsters – Mitchel Frame, Francis Turley and Daniel Cummings – have been on the fringes and trained with the A squad but even their game time has been limited.

So when Aidan Rice was asked to join Inverness on an emergency loan, the 18-year-old goalkeeper took the opportunity and he made his debut in a men’s first-team against Alloa Athletic last weekend.

• READ MORE: Celtic’s top summer targets, Brendan Rodgers frustrations and insider thoughts on squad depth – transfer Q&A with market expert

Aidan Rice was pleased with Inverness CT debut after Celtic loan

Rice was pleased with his showing at the Caledonian Stadium and revealed his pride at taking his first step in men’s football as up until that he’d been stuck in the Lowland League.

Speaking at full-time following the 1-1 draw which keeps ICT eighth amid off-field issues, Rice explained how he felt about making his bow and being trusted with doing his job.

He said: “It was a quick turnaround, but it was good to get the opportunity to play men’s football in front of the fans, and it was up to me to take it.

“It was a good atmosphere, so I enjoyed it.

“I was pleased with my performance. It was a case of turning up on the day and making the saves – that’s what you need to do.

“I thought the boys deserved to get the win, we played well, but it was up to us to go and take our chances.

“As soon as I came in, I could see it was a really good young group here,” he said.

“I came up on Wednesday and I was staying with Remi Savage. I trained on Thursday and Friday and then into the game at the weekend.”

Rice Celtic B stats before Inverness loan earned him shot

Rice can only look to build on this short but sweet loan stint as he hopes to establish himself moving forward.

Goalkeepers can play on beyond an outfield footballer for the most part so the young man has plenty of time with his career still in its infancy.

Rice has played 16 times for Celtic B team this campaign so far with some of those appearances coming in the Lowland League where has has shipped 20 goals and kept four clean sheets.

He has also been handed experience in the UEFA Youth League with the Hoops and has started six matches and kept two clean sheets in that competition alone.