STEPHEN Welsh has made three competitive appearances for the Celtic senior side, two of which came this season in the shape of this month’s Glasgow derby and last week’s UEFA Europa League encounter with AC Milan at Paradise.

Having worked through the ranks of the club’s Youth Academy set-up, Welsh has impressed at all levels and has been delighted with the trust Neil Lennon and his backroom staff have shown in him this campaign.

As a lifelong Celtic fan, the 20-year-old defender admits he’s living the dream and said he’ll do everything he can, on and off the pitch, to keep himself in the manager’s plans moving forward.

“Celtic is the only club you want to play for as a kid, especially being a fan, that’s the dream to go and play,” said Welsh in an exclusive interview with this week’s Celtic View, on sale now. “Now that I’m here, it’s just about living in the moment, working hard, and not getting too carried away because it’s still my job to go out there and play.

“As well as being a fan, you’re a footballer too, so you have to take the fan side of things out of the equation on matchday. That’s a totally different experience, but it’s obviously brilliant. Every young kid who’s a Celtic fan, it’s their dream to play for Celtic. Only a few lucky ones get to do it, and it’s such a privilege for me to be living it.”

Welsh’s first call-up to the starting XI this season was the Glasgow derby, and while Welsh was naturally disappointed with the result, he did admit he could draw positives from the experience as a developing player.

He said: “Despite that result, there are massive positives that I can draw personally. That was only my second game and to be thrown into, in my opinion, what is the biggest game in the world, there’s nothing better than that.

“No one likes to experience defeat, but you’re judged on how you deal with it. The biggest players experience defeat, so it’s up to you to pick yourself up and give it your all in the next game, and the next game after that. And that’s what this club is all about.

“The biggest thing for young players coming in, I think, is trust. The gaffer needs to be have trust in you and your abilities so that you can slot in and play and be ready. If the manager and backroom staff can trust you, then you can go in there and play with no fear.

“When you’re involved in the team, and involved in disappointing defeats specifically, it gives you more of an urge to push harder in the next games. Being a part of it definitely gives you more of an urge to do that, and so does being a fan as well.

"I know every fan will be the exact same, because I’m the exact same myself. You can’t change what’s happened now. You can only affect what’s ahead and it’s up to us to do that – for ourselves and for the fans.”

To read the full interview with Stephen Welsh, pick up the latest issue of the Celtic View. On sale now.

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Celtic View Exclusive: Stephen Welsh on living the Celtic dream