Celtic B team manager, Tommy McIntyre said that Owen Moffat’s competitive debut with the first team this week is the perfect example of how the club's Youth Academy works.

Getting the call-up is not an inevitable thing, McIntyre said, and the players need to be performing at high levels in every single training session and game.

Speaking to the official Celtic website, he said: “To me that’s the golden ticket, going from the B Team to the First Team.

'Owen Moffat’s worked really hard, and the opportunities have arisen for him. He was ready and he jumped right in.'

The 19-year-old came on as a substitute in Wednesday night's game against Ross County, replacing another Academy graduate in Adam Montgomery just after the hour mark. And the young Celt was involved in the build-up to Anthony Ralston's dramatic 97th-minute winner for the Hoops.

“It was a great three points for the club," said Tommy McIntyre. "Owen's come on and he did well, which it’s great for him, us and the Academy.”

And McIntyre also explained that he saw an old clip of Owen Moffat the other day when he was on the ‘Football’s Next Star’ TV show with Westlife’s Nicky Byrne, which captured nine-year-old Owen scoring a goal at Barrowfield.

“When you put it into perspective and when you look at that, how far he’s come and making his debut, that’s the perfect example to other young players,” the Celtic B team manager said.

Ahead of this Saturday’s match against Bo’ness United at the Penny Cars Stadium (KO: 1pm), the manager said that preparations have been going well. The last time the sides met back in August, the young Hoops claimed a 2-0 win.

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“What I’ve liked about the training and the players is that there’s one or two younger ones who have been working hard to get game-time and they have pushed themselves into the team," he said.

“It’s really important that they understand there’s a pathway for them. It also gives us a bigger pool to choose from as well.

“Bo’ness was a tough game over there when we played them and they’ll be a bit hurt from not taking anything from that game. I see them being organised and they have had some good results this year as well."

The B team have a busy schedule through the Christmas season, playing East Kilbride on Tuesday December 21, only a few days after the Bo’ness fixture, and then building up to a Hogmanay Glasgow derby at Ibrox.

“We are trying to prepare them for not just these games but the general step up in intensity with the way we train and how we train,” McIntyre said.

“We’re focusing on making sure they’re at it every day, that they’re really preparing their bodies for development, whether that’s going up and training with the first team or playing with the first team.”

Tommy McIntyre: Owen Moffat’s debut is perfect example for young Celts