There are some players who burst onto the Celtic scene in a blaze of glory, while others are slow burners who gradually warm to the task. There are some too of course, who seem to freeze as they try to handle the pressure and live up to the standard required when wearing the shirt.

Celtic fans will be hoping that January arrival Nicolas Kuhn falls into the slow burner category, with the winger having only shown glimpses of promise across his fleeting appearances in the first team since signing from Rapid Vienna.

In his defence, there have been mitigating circumstances. A problem with his wisdom teeth prior to his move to Scotland resulted in a dramatic weight loss, and given that he was already of wiry build, that dramatically affected the strength which he previously possessed.

It also curtailed one of his main assets, with his blistering pace a key attribute he pinpointed as something to look out for on his first day as a Celtic player.

So, it would have been unfair to dismiss him in the early stages of his Celtic career despite some indifferent performances, and unwise perhaps given the vast improvement he exhibited in a promising display against Livingston on Sunday.

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Yes, he eventually tired and faded from the game during the second half, having to be replaced by James Forrest after suffering from a touch of cramp, but that was the result of the undoubted effort he had expended in the opening 45 minutes of the match.

From the off, he looked bright, with his clever dummy in the opening minutes deceiving Livi defender Cristian Montano and his pace allowing him to get on the end of the ball down the outside. He has a tendency when playing from the right to cut in on his preferred left foot, but there was enough of that variation in his play to keep his direct opponent honest.

And when he did cut in, that was when he produced the most consistent quality off that left side, the most telling moment of which was his assist for Daizen Maeda’s opening goal of the afternoon, his back post pick-out displaying impressive vision and proving he is capable of executing defence splitting passes.

On top of that, his strength and running power seemed at least partly restored, carrying the ball well and being able to shrug off the attentions of defenders, and occasionally inspiring panic by dribbling right at the heart of the Livi backline.

So, while there was still plenty of room for improvement, there was also enough promise in his performance to not only hint that Kuhn has something to offer, but that there may also be a lot more to come from him. And his manager, Brendan Rodgers, certainly believes that to be the case.

“In fairness to him, I think we mentioned it before, for anyone not working with him every day and seeing the difference, when he first came in he was in the midst of his break and I think he said he’d lost seven kilos,” Rodgers said.

“You can imagine that when you are only slight anyway. To lose over a stone, I think he found that he’d lost his strength and his running capacity.

“So, it’s been about building him up. I think he feels great now. He’s still got a bit of work to do. But I think you saw that much more aggressive [approach] in his game, in one-v-ones, taking people on, finding the pass for Daizen’s goal.

“So yes, that’s more of what we want to see. It’s just adaption. He’ll progress I’m sure in his time but that was very good.”

Celtic’s woes on the wing have been well documented this season, with the supporting cast failing to really fill the void left by the departure of Jota, and Liel Abada’s impact being curtailed firstly by injury and then by events outwith anyone at Celtic’s control.

In Maeda’s hat-trick on Sunday though from the left and Kuhn’s improvement on the other side, there may well be hope that Rodgers has at last been able to find a formula to not only provide a goal threat from those key areas, but to get some better service into the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah.

If Kuhn is to nail down that position ahead of the likes of Yang Hyun-jun, who was suspended on Sunday, or Forrest, who impressed during his rare cameo in the last 20 minutes of the Livingston match, the self-belief he gained from his weekend display may prove invaluable.

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But Rodgers has stressed to the German that there can be no let up in his work rate, either on the pitch, or away from it in his preparation.

“It’s about the hard work,” he said.

“Confidence is up there but there has to be a build-up to that.

“You’ve got to get your preparation right which all these guys are great at – that intensity, that work rate.

“He’s coming to a country where the intensity and the expectations are huge. It’s about settling into that and then finding your rhythm. Some can do it straight away. With some it takes a little bit of time.

“You saw on Sunday, he was much more aggressive, penetrating much more with his passes and his one v ones. He was a real threat for us.”