MACKAY STEVEN & CHRISTIE ADD TO DEILA’S OPTIONS

The winger, who arrived at Celtic a year ago in a £2million double deal along with Stuart Armstrong from Dundee United, scored his first goals of the season in the 3-1 win over St.Johnstone.

And Mackay-Steven, who started only his 12th game of the campaign at the weekend, is hoping he played well enough to get the nod to start the League Cup semi-final against Ross County at Hampden on Sunday.

James Forrest, who has just been offered a new three-and-a-half year deal by the Hoops, had to be content with a cameo appearance when he came on in the fading moments against the Perth outfit.

Now Deila has a selection headache ahead of the crucial meeting with the Highlanders as the SPFL champions zero in on a domestic treble.

Mackay-Steven, 25, said: “We’ve been working hard in training to get fluency into our play with things such as penetrating runs from the middle of the park and the front players all dovetailing with their movements.

“On a personal note, I was desperate to get off the mark and grab a goal or two. I thought we just picked up against St.Johnstone where we left off against Hamilton in the 8-1 win on Tuesday night.

“Maybe we should have scored more against the Saints, but, of course, the main thing was to get three points and we achieved that.

“As I said, training is a really high standard. Everyone is on their toes at all times, so it means the manager has a tough choice when it comes to putting his team together.

“Obviously, though, it is a great feeling to be in the starting line-up.

“We’ve got such a strong subs’ bench and there are boys who can come on and make a difference.”

Ryan Christie, bought for £500,000 from Inverness Caley Thistle in the summer, made his first appearance in the hoops after returning from his loan spell at the Highlanders.

The 20-year-old midfielder said: “It was incredible to play – it was amazing just to go out and do a warm up.

“I have to say the reception when I stepped onto the pitch was fantastic.

“Of course, it will be hard to get into the squad because the lads have been playing brilliantly.

“However, there are a lot of games coming up, so the manager might need to rotate it a bit.

“Hopefully, my name will be in contention, if not to start then, at least, to be in the squad with a chance of coming on.”