Celtic star reveals he is ready for 'next steps' as verdict given on Brendan Rodgers

McCowan was a deadline-day signing a year ago after his late move to Celtic Park from Dundee and spent the majority of last season being a support act to fellow midfielders Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Arne Engels and Paulo Bernardo.

The 27-year-old made 47 appearances in his 12 months as a Celtic player, but only 16 of them have been right from the off. Under manager Brendan Rodgers, McCowan is used primarily as an impact player.

His influence can be tangible. McCowan netted the winner on the opening day of the season, when Celtic toiled to break down St Mirren in a 1-0 win, and while such moments mean a lot to the playmaker, he wants more. Approaching his peak years, the Greenock-born player is keen to stake his claim.

“I was just chatting to the guys there about it,” said McCowan on this being a big season for him. “Obviously as a Celtic player now for over a year, you want to be taking the next steps in that challenge and getting more starts, getting more minutes, impacting the games more.

“That's going to be my main aim this year - trying to better what my stats were last year, hopefully play more minutes and just keep working away and working hard.

‘I’m sure I’ll be ready for that’

“Just knowing that my mentality is right throughout the season that I'm ready to make an impact, ready to start big games, ready to play Europa League games and stuff so I'm sure I'll be ready for that.”

McCowan is also clear on his personal ambitions in a Celtic shirt. “Goal involvement in general is probably the biggest one obviously for myself,” he said, “as you want to feel like you're a big part of the squad by scoring goals or setting up the goals.

“I’m sure if I'm getting the minutes and I'm in the squad then it's something that I can bring and something I will be bringing just as I did last year.”

McCowan believes he has the right man in his corner in Rodgers to help him develop. The former Ayr United man feels he is developing all the time under his manager.

“Massive,” McCowan said of Rodgers’ impact. “He just makes you want to play for him, makes you feel ten feet tall and puts a lot of confidence into you.

“Now I know what it takes to play for Celtic, he says you need to go and show that with more games to come and more minutes to come. So yeah he just puts an abundance of confidence into myself and throughout the squad as well so that will be massive for the busy part of the season.”