Christie’s sudden transformation makes him biggest surprise package of Celtic’s season

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Back in March 2018, the Herald reported that Ryan Christie was in the last chance saloon at Celtic. With the final year of his contract approaching, the midfielder was struggling to show his talent and there was no obvious route back.

But Celtic’s injury problems handed Christie an opportunity in the early part of this season, by which time he had less than 12 months left on his deal, and he took it emphatically.

From the final day of October to the middle of December, Christie went on a run of scoring in five out of six league games and earned a new deal in the middle of it, on 12 November (BBC).

A gamechanging contribution as a half-time substitute in October’s Scottish League Cup semi-final was the catalyst for his return to contention – by his own admission – and he even scored the winner in the final over Aberdeen to boot.

Few would have envisaged Christie having such a central role in winning a piece of silverware when the season kicked off but it is through his own hard work and determination to salvage his career at Scotland’s best team.

That makes him as much of a surprise package as anyone in the Bhoys’ ranks this season and the fact they have suffered since his injury problems under Neil Lennon underlines his new influence.