Gray wants to stay at Celtic

Mickey Gray has spoken of how much he enjoyed his full Celtic debut by taking part in last weekend's Old Firm derby, and confirmed that he'd like to stay with the Hoops.

Speaking to the Daily Record about last weekend's match which saw Celtic take the coveted win, he said "It was one of the best matches I've ever played in - I'd watched a couple before but it's a different matter altogether when you're playing. From start to finish the noise was electrifying and it was an incredible match for me to make my debut in.

Gray came on after only 24 minutes to replace midfielder Alan Thompson but the Record reports that he did well in keeping Rangers' Nuno Capucho quiet.

"I'm loving it here. At the moment I'm only here for four months but if something more permanent can be fixed up then I would be delighted", said Mickey.

Prior to last Saturday's match it was around six weeks since Gray's last competitive action but he says he's been taking steps to make sure he stays fit, and staying behind after training to do extra work. "That helped me a lot and I felt great out there at Ibrox.

"I just tried to play my natural game and the players around me made it really easy for me to fit in.''

"I would like to try to force my way into the team, difficult as that's going to be. I've said all along I'm not just up here to make up the numbers.

"Since I got into the Sunderland side at 17 I've always been a first-team player and there is no way I intend changing that now.''