Virgo desperate for Celtic chance

Adam Virgo is desperate for the opportunity to show the Celtic fans he is worth the £1.5m (€2.2m) the club paid for him.

The 22-year-old arrived in the summer from Brighton with high hopes of setting the Bank of Scotland Premier League alight.

Instead, he has started just one game during his time at Celtic so far.

The defender was handed a boost when he was named in Walter Smith’s 17-man Future Team for next week’s match against Poland at Rugby Park.

But he admits his priority remains forcing his way into the Celtic team and proving he can be a success at Parkhead after all.

He said: “I hope the fans will see the real Adam Virgo sooner rather than later but I would say that, in my first full game back, it is a certainty that I will be tired.

“It is totally different coming from reserve-team football to a senior game and you see in the likes of Chris Sutton how much it takes out of you being out, even for a short period of time.

“It is amazing what a couple of games can do for your match fitness and I hope that, if I can get a little run, I will show everyone why the club bought me in the first place.

“I have certainly been working very hard with the fitness coaches here and now, mentally and physically, I am definitely a lot more ready to make the step up.”

His one and only start was against Dunfermline at East End Park, where he was substituted after just 59 minutes.

But Virgo insists he is now ready to stake a claim for a place in the top team.

“I would love to play that game again now,” he told the club’s official website, www.celticfc.net.

“I had a job to do that day and I thought I did the best I could under the circumstances. But I certainly was not anywhere near my best.”

Virgo hopes his involvement with the Future Team will give him the opportunity to show manager Gordon Strachan exactly what his best is.

He said: “This call-up is just a little boost for my confidence and I can only go into the game thinking that a good performance against Poland will catch the manager’s eye and boost my chances of getting into the first team here.

“That still has to be my main aim at the moment because, although it’s great to be involved in the international set-up at any level, playing games for my club has to be a priority.”