Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will look to offer Ryan Christie a new contract after the striker came off the bench to play a part in all three Celtic goals at Murrayfield yesterday afternoon. The 23-year-old is in the final season of a four-year contract and has been a fringe player throughout his time at the club. Christie was signed in 2015 before returning to Inverness immediately on loan. Injury ensured an early return to Lennoxtown before he went out on two loan spells to Aberdeen for a total of 18 months. An injury to Oliver Ntcham opened the door to Christie yesterday as the forward was the catalyst for Celtic's progression into the Betfred League Cup final next month after winning a penalty, setting up the second goal and netting a fine third.

Said Rodgers: “He’s someone that of course we would look to commit to. The club have been talking to his representatives but I’m not aware of any movement. I tend to focus on working with the players. “He is in his last year but we have had other players like Stuart Armstrong. My focus is on making them better as players, giving them a future here to be involved and be a part of.

“Hopefully then the other stuff can sort itself out. He is definitely a player that we would love to keep. He is a fantastic player. You saw his contribution today. You saw it at Aberdeen when he was there. It was step-by-step but now is 23. He is at a really good age to come in and have the personality to play at a big club. He did well against Leipzig so he can make a valuable contribution to this team.”

“It’s been a process with Ryan. When I first came in, I felt he could be in and around the squad and he played some games.

“But for him to be able to give his best to Celtic and cope with the pressures of being at a big club, he had to go out and feel that pressure on a weekly basis.

“He went to a great club in Aberdeen with a great manager, so he felt that pressure playing.

“I always felt he could come back and then make a contribution because you need that personality to play for the big clubs and play in big games.

“Since he’s come back, he’s shown that. He’s come into games, he started games and you saw his impact.

“He scored a brilliant goal and was involved in two others.

“It’s all part of the development for him and it was great to see it." Meanwhile, Hearts manager Craig Levein lamented the “soft” penalty which paved the way to Celtic's win, with the Tynecastle manager irked at the meekness with which Bozanic accepted the call from referee Willie Collum.

“It was very soft, I think,” said Levein. “When you watch it again, Bozanic’s foot isn’t even off the ground. Christie is just waiting on it. But it’s given Willie a decision to make. I don’t think Oli protests enough even at the point where Willie isn’t sure.

“My frustration comes from losing the first goal to a silly penalty kick. After that we there was the goalkeeper’s mistake. From then it was nearly impossible for us to get back into the match.”

And Levein also fears that striker Steven Naismith could be the next long-term injury victim at the club. Defender John Souttar and Uche Ikpeazu are both facing five-month lay-offs and Levein is wary that Naismith could be the next to face a substantial spell out. The striker lasted just eight minutes of yesterday’s game before his afternoon was prematurely cut short, with Levein lamenting the extensive injury list at the club. “He felt something in his knee,” he said. “Obviously he’s had a couple of serious operations a while back, so he wasn’t feeling too good about it.

“We need to get an investigation done so once we’ve done that we’ll find out what the problem is."