 Graham Carey will not be staying at Celtic for long if it means returning to the reserves when his loan with St Mirren is up. The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international joined the Buddies on loan in January after failing to break through impress former Hoops' boss Tony Mowbray. Carey make his debut under Mowbray as a substitute in the 3-3 Europa League draw against Rapid Vienna in Austria last December. Carey had previously been out on loan at Irish club Bohemians and has been impressive in Paisley, where his recent performances earned him the young player of the month award for April. Having developed a taste for regular SPL football has left the 20-year-old wanting more and with his current deal at Celtic ending in the summer, he is not keen to take a step backwards. He said: "I've had no word yet from Celtic but I'm in no rush to sign anything, I will wait to see what happens. If Celtic wanted to keep me that would be great. I always wanted to play there, that was my goal and hopefully that can happen. But if I was to stay there I would want them to assure me that I was going to be a first-team player. I wouldn't expect to play every game but would want to be more involved than I have been in the last couple of years, especially at my age. I want to play every week. This is my fifth season at Celtic. I went on loan to Bohemians in Ireland last season and I loved it. I thought I would get a bit more of a chance leading up to January but that wasn't to be. I got on in Vienna and I was disappointed that it was my only appearance. It was a little bit disheartening but you have to respect the manager's decision. If he didn't think I was ready then I wasn't ready, that's why I went out on loan to prove that I can play in the SPL. In January, with six months left on my contract, I couldn't really stay there playing reserves football. I had to get out to impress the Celtic staff and other managers and it's been great." Carey, who has been playing at left-back for the Buddies, went on: "Staying at St Mirren is a possibility. I think the gaffer (Gus MacPherson) is keen to keep me and I am happy with that but we will see what my options are in the summer. I would like to think that I had options after doing well on loan but I will just have to see. I haven't spoken to anyone at Celtic, I'm just concentrating on my football at the moment. I'd rather do that than talk about contracts, there are plenty of time for that in the summer." Carey picked up his monthly award at St Mirren's training ground and said: "I am delighted. It's down to the gaffer who has put me in for big games. I've progressed massively, my work rate has got better and I have grown up a lot. I've learned that you can't really hide in the SPL, you have to play for 90 minutes or you get found out." |