Patrick Roberts glad to make Celtic return

The 21-year-old winger, on-loan from Manchester City, had been out since late in November with a hamstring complaint.

He was sent on for James Forrest in the 68th minute as the Hoops struggled to break down the home side, reduced to 10 men just before the break when defender Cedric Kipre was shown a straight red card by referee Craig Thomson following a clash with Hoops skipper Scott Brown.

Roberts skimmed the crossbar with a drive but Brendan Rodgers' side had to settle for a draw which took them 10 points clear of Rangers at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership with a game in hand.

He said: "It was the longest four months of my life but it was great to get back out there, shame about the result.

"It's been tough. I came back about a month ago and it's been about getting the fitness and the match sharpness back I had before I got injured.

"It's been tough but I have worked hard to get where I am, and hopefully I can kick on now.

"I have felt good in training the last few weeks and I knew I would get on at some point and I was trying my best to get a goal but the bar got me.

"I just want to finish the season as strongly as I can. We have a few games left now and we still have the big Scottish Cup semi-final to play and the games in the league, and hopefully I can get as many minutes on the pitch and get back doing what I was doing before I was injured.''

Roberts insists there is still a lot of football to be played before a seventh successive title is secured.

He said: "There's always work to be done. We will take each game as it comes, no matter who we play, and we will try to get as many wins as we can.

"That's all we can do. The other teams will take care of themselves and we will take each game as it comes and try and get the three points.

"We showed lasted year the resilience we had when we were so far ahead.

"At the end of the day, we just have to go out there and do it for ourselves and the league will take care of itself.'

• superscoreboard