ROSS Wallace may be a novice left back but five months of behind-the-scenes preparations have ensured Celtic's diminutive defender is not a weak link in an increasingly sturdy chain of colleagues.

The winger made a competent first-team debut in his unaccustomed position during the 3-1 win against Aberdeen last weekend but yesterday suggested it was a culmination of a prolonged period of personal reinvention.

Gordon Strachan, almost immediately upon replacing Martin O'Neill, detected the kind of industry and agility in Wallace that had gone unnoticed by his predecessor and, in fact, the player himself.

Wallace was subsequently issued extra tactical work on the Barrowfield training ground and so the metamorphosis began.

He was in good hands. Tommy Burns was the subject of a similar experiment by David Hay years ago, and was able to ease the transition, while Danny McGrain, regarded as one of the foremost full backs in the world in his pomp, provided encouragement and expertise as Wallace wrestled with the new discipline in the reserves.

Injury to the eccentric Mo Camara has provided an opportunity to demonstrate his newly acquired defensive skills but he is unconcerned by being identified as an area of exploitation by Hibernian today.

"I could be seen as a vulnerability because the weekend was the first time I had played there but if teams try to work me, it is up to me to show what I have been practising every day in training since the summer, " he said assuredly.

"You are going to get games like that but I do not see it being a problem. Jamie Smith has been a big threat for Aberdeen this season and I think I kept him quiet.

"I am working on the physical side of my game because I am never going to be known for my aerial ability. I had never played left back before but the manager has seen something in me and now it is a case of getting used to the discipline and becoming more comfortable with it."

The resurgence of Aiden McGeady as a first-team force, coupled with the available experience of Alan Thompson, had impinged on Wallace's first-team prospects in his previous position.

Now, he has contented himself with the fact that Camara is his primary competition these days. Given the Guinean's unpredictability, Strachan may well have manufactured a more reliable, if still unconventional, alternative.

Last Saturday was the biggest practical assessment of the theory taught by Strachan and his backroom team. Even in victory he learned some vital lessons.

"The manager first mentioned during pre-season that he saw me as a left back and I played a couple of friendly games in that position. I wasn't sure about it at first but, after playing a couple of reserve games, you adapt, " he recalled.

"The main thing is trying not to bomb forward all the time. It isa natural instinct to attack when you are a left winger but while you are encouraged to get forward you are still a defender and that is your primary role.

"I am enjoying it now and if it is the difference between playing and watching, I am happy."

Strachan also declared himself contented with Wallace's progress. Adaptability and perseverance are two key elements of the Celtic manager's philosophy and 20-year-old Wallace, along with fellow youngsters such as Shaun Maloney, Stephen McManus and McGeady, have shown that a willingness to embrace such concepts will be rewarded with first-team opportunities.

"I think it's quite simple. if someone has not got a regular position then let's try them somewhere else, " said Strachan. "Ross has given everyone hope. A lot of youngsters get in through injury or suspension and feel that they've been lucky to get that break.

"But I think these guys have worked and trained so well that their performances have pushed them forward. The most important thing is he trusts himself and we trust him."

At 5ft 6ins, Wallace is not likely to tower over anyone but, in the diminutive Strachan, he has found a manager who would surely be the last to apply sizeist criteria to team selection.

"I look at full backs in the world these days and a lot of them can get forward, especially in attack-minded sides, " reflected the Celtic manager. "They don't have to be giants either. If you look at Ashley Cole, Roberto Carlos and people like that, they're quite small.

"It's maybe the one position you can get away with [not being tall]. It'd be nice if he was 6ft 2ins and had the same ability. If we could find somebody like that then Ross would be out, but we can't.

"If you have to pay for the ones that have already been produced it costs you millions, so we have to turn the tables round and try and produce our own."