'McCowan's levelheadedness helps him shine'

Luke McCowan came in out of the cold for Celtic on Saturday and gave the manager a timely reminder of what he can offer.

However, despite a man of the match performance, a goal on his return, and a hat-trick of first-half assists, there's still no guarantee he'll retain his place in the starting XI by the time Celtic line up at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.

That's the level of depth in this Celtic squad right now.

McCowan had featured for a grand total of six minutes in Celtic's previous five games before returning to the fold against Ross County, with his competition across the midfield in the shape of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Arne Engels and Paulo Bernardo meaning the ex-Dundee man has had to bide his time since making the dream move to his boyhood heroes.

However, his level-headedness in the face of such a challenge has been as impressive as anything else we've seen on the pitch from the ex-Dundee skipper.

He was more than ready when called upon.

So too were Paulo Bernardo, Adam Idah, Liam Scales, Alex Valle and James Forrest - who all returned to the starting line-up following the 1-1 midweek draw with Club Brugge - and it's testament to the attitude across the whole squad that we're seeing this level of performance, regardless who gets the nod to start.

That's life at Celtic, and it's an indication of the elite mentality of this group under Brendan Rodgers.

Those who have it will get a chance, and those who don't may find themselves moving on to pastures new.

For the record, McCowan has it in abundance, and I think we’re set to see much more of Celtic's number 14 in the weeks ahead.

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange.