Cillian Sheridan had no hesitation in accepting Motherwell boss Mark McGhee's loan offer, and the chance of regular first team football it entails, but his sights are still firmly set on establishing himself as a first choice striker at Celtic Park. "The gaffer asked me if I wanted to go and it was a no-brainer to have a chance of playing in the Premier League regularly. It is invaluable to play." said the young Irishman, "Hopefully I can take it all on board and come back a better player in the summer. The gaffer said he has so many strikers but he wants me to come back and be pushing them for a start.
"He said, 'Go and relax because here at Celtic it's going to be very intense from now until the end of the season as we go for the title'." added Sheridan "I will enjoy going somewhere I can relax and hopefully score some goals. That is my aim. If I go and do well there it will benefit me and Motherwell so hopefully I will come back a much better player. Mark was a striker and he has worked with a lot of strikers and helped them all. Hopefully he can help me too and I'll go back to Celtic a much better player."
The Motherwell gaffer has brought the youngster in to replace Chris Porter, who was sold to Derby County during the transfer window, but at the same time he says that Sheridan is under no pressure to fill the departed striker's boots. "Whatever he can contribute will be a bonus," said McGhee "But we're not going to heap pressure on him by saying he's going to replace Chris Porter - he's a player that can help the team, that's all. We think he's a player who can help us fill the gap that Chris Porter has left, and we'll work really hard with him so that when he moves back to Celtic, he has improved."
McGhee will be delighted if all goes to plan and he can send a much improved player back to Celtic Park in the summer not least because it would encourage the Parkhead club to trust him with more raw talent in the future "Celtic wouldn't have sent him over here if they didn't think we can offer them something," said the 'Well boss. "He'll get valuable first team experience if he can pull his weight and stay in the team, he could end up playing 20 games between now and the end of the season. Hopefully, he'll be under no pressure. I'm going to make sure people's expectations of the lad are low. We've asked him to come here, work hard and try to improve as a player, so that next time when we ask Celtic for a player they know we're going to work with them and they'll think of doing it again." 