Celtic goalkeeper Ross Doohan flying in loan spell at Ayr United

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Celtic youngster Ross Doohan is having a stunning season on loan at Ayr United in the Championship.

The goalkeeper signed a new four-year contract at Parkhead before leaving for Somerset Park back in July. The season-long loan stint has seen Doohan perform at a good level and increase his rate of development. So much so that he’s been featuring regularly for Ayr and Scotland Under-21s.

This season, Doohan has recorded 37 appearances for United. During that period, he’s managed a fantastic 19 clean sheets. These have included shutouts against the likes of Dundee United (x2), Falkirk, Morton, Partick, and Inverness to name a few.

This is solid Championship opposition that Doohan is performing against. He’s bagging clean sheets against sides that look close to Premiership level.

Added to that, he seems to be incredibly comfortable with the ball at his feet. His distribution has always been impressive at reserve-team level, but doing it in the senior game is another matter.

It appears to be going swimmingly, with Ayr sitting third and looking on course for a playoff position. Should Doohan manage to squeeze United into the Premiership next season, it would be a monumental achievement for the 21-year-old.

The next step

Unfortunately for Doohan, it could still be a while yet before he gets a sniff of an opportunity at Parkhead. The next step for him come next season would be to compete in the Premiership.

Should United get up, that would be the best move for all parties. He could head back to a familiar club whilst competing against the top level of opposition that Scotland has to offer. It would essentially be Doohan’s acid test, regardless of where he goes after this season.

Scott Bain and Craig Gordon have the goalkeeping positions locked up at Parkhead. The likes of Reece Willison and Ryan Mullen are also in Doohan’s way as competition.

But the Scotland Under-21 international has been flying this season. As well as his 19 clean sheets out of 37 – a further 10 games have seen him ship just one goal. It’s a simply phenomenal run of form he’s on, and it can’t be ignored.

Hopefully, Ayr get promoted this season and Doohan can head back. It would certainly be interesting to see how he would perform against Scotland’s elite.