When Celtic clinched the SPL title at Kilmarnock in April he looked awkward and out of place on the park with players he’d only trained with.
Six months down the line on Saturday at St Mirren Tony Watt will be hoping to get another chance to sharpen his game further.
Since scoring twice as a substitute on his debut at Motherwell Watt has stepped out of the shadows to become one of the top prospects at Celtic and with Scotland.
Further goals for club and country have kept Watt to the fore with his life off the park transformed as much as his reputation on it.
“People come up to me a lot now and I do get recognised in the streets,” the 18-year-old admitted. “It is a brilliant feeling to know that you can make a lot of people proud through playing football.
“That is the best part of being a footballer and people wanting to know you because you play football is different class. It is hard to get your head around that, though.
“Ten years ago I would have approached a footballer in the streets if I watched them playing and thought ‘Wow’.
“They’d have been my heroes when I was younger and hopefully I want to do my bit and get them to recognise me more. I have my autograph down to a fine art now!”
Looking at Saturday’s trip to St Mirren Watt added: “I scored my first Under-21 goal at St Mirren Park and I scored a couple there in the Youth Cup last season. It’s been a good ground for me.
“People keep asking if it’s hard to focus on this game because we play Barcelona next week. You just have to play what is put in front of you. St Mirren are the next team and if we don’t beat them we will go to Barcelona on a downer, so we need to win.”
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Just keep pushing, fella