This Celtic starlet is right. Competition for places can only be a good thing.

As a fan of a club, you never tend to complain if there are a host of top quality players vying for one spot in the side.

It is vital to have players who can not only offer something different in a game but who can step in when  injuries and suspension hit. A good squad is key to winning trophies, but when you are chasing a domestic treble and a European title, it is more important than ever.

Luckily for Celtic, they have one of those and young starlet Liam Henderson has made it clear that is one of the factors driving him on to become a better player.

You only need to look at the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to know that competition can be a good thing in a player’s career – they drive each other on to new heights and it is fair to say that neither would be the player they are currently had the other not been around. They would have been brilliant, yes, but the best we have ever seen? Perhaps not.

There is however the risk that a player will not get the game time he needs if there is a plethora of players fighting for the same position – the amount of young, creative stars who have seen their careers dwindle after a move to a big club and an increase in competition is far too long – but according to Henderson, for him, it is a good thing.

Obviously there is a difference between having a couple of players to compete with and having four or five – and luckily for the Celtic starlet, the former is the case for him, and having the manager’s confidence has obviously done him the world of good.

He was speaking about a potential loan away from the club and the fact that Stuart Armstrong had been brought in and was nothing but positive, noting: ‘Stuart plays a similar position to me and I’m looking to learn off him. He has been a brilliant player for Dundee United and a young player so I’m looking to learn off him as well.’

Celtic fans. Do you think competition for places is a good thing? Can players learn from each other and improve? Let us know your thoughts below, become a guest blogger or tweet us @LaFootyettes.