THE players who have come away on Scotland’s tour of Peru and Mexico know that, despite the calibre of the individuals who have stayed at home, acquitting themselves well in the coming week will enhance their prospects of being involved at international level again in the future.

But Ryan Christie, the Celtic attacking midfielder who has been on loan at Aberdeen for the past 10 months, is convinced that giving a good account of himself in South and Central America in the next six days could have a direct bearing on how he fares at club level in the coming months as well.

Christie will return to the Scottish champions for pre-season training next month intent on finally, three years after joining them in a £500,000 transfer from Scottish Cup winners Inverness Caledonian Thistle, establishing himself as a first team regular at Parkhead in the new season.

It will be a tall order. The 23-year-old will have ferocious competition for a starting spot with Brendan Rodgers’s side, not least from the much-improved Callum McGregor, during the 2018/19 campaign. His employers could, too, easily bring in reinforcements in his position during the close season as they seek to maintain their domestic dominance and improve their chances of doing well in Europe.

Christie, though, believes he is ready. He has matured as a direct result of both of his temporary spells at Pittodrie, where he has helped Derek McInnes’s team finish second ahead of Rangers in the Ladbrokes Premiership in the past two seasons, and from his involvement in the national set-up.

He is confident that getting a run-out against either Ricardo Gareca’s charges in the National Stadium here in Lima on Tuesday night or Juan Carlos Osorio’s men in the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Saturday in friendly games which will be played in front of capacity crowds of 45,000 and 87,000 respectively, will prove invaluable to his development as a footballer.

This trip has been dogged by controversy since it was first announced way back in January; many Celtic and English-based players have been excused from travelling and no fewer than six of those who were named in the original 24-man squad have withdrawn.

However, Christie, whose athleticism and invention have made him arguably Aberdeen’s most effective and important player in the past 18 months, can only see the benefits from the jaunt across the Atlantic.

“I’m pleased with how the season has gone,” said Christie. “Towards the end of the season, you tend to look back. If you’d have said at the start of the season that I would have made my Scotland debut and be named in this squad then I would have been absolutely delighted.

“Once you get into the international set-up it’s important you stay there. It’s important for me. I was delighted to make my debut against the Netherlands at Pittodrie in November. It was amazing to play in that game. It was the highlight of my career so far. I’ve had a taste of international football and of course you want more.

“We obviously had a great season at Aberdeen, finishing second in the league once again. Getting a Scotland call-up is perhaps a reflection and reward for that. But these games are also the start for me.

“You don’t really get a close season any more and it’s important I do well in these games because I am obviously heading back to Celtic for pre-season. I really want to kick on, I want to start pre-season on a high. I want to show that I am good enough to play there.”

Christie added: “I am a different player than I was 18 months ago. I have helped Aberdeen finish runners-up again. I feel I am an all-round better player. I have a hunger and desire to win games. At Aberdeen we really pushed on so I think these are important qualities I can take with me back to Celtic.”

“I am also involved at international level. These games are totally new to me as they are to most of the boys. Most of us haven’t been in this part of the world before. Most of us haven’t come up against this sort of opposition. We are facing two teams who are going to the World Cup so we know it will be tough.

“But you want to test yourself against these teams. We know the games will be challenging, but we are more than confident we can get a couple of good results. These are the games you want to be involved in.”

Christie, who has made just 13 appearances for Celtic and scored just two goals since moving to Glasgow back in 2015, has been urged to make the most of his appearances for his country in conversations with Rodgers since he was named in the squad. He predicted that going away with Scotland will help him to make an impact and convince the Northern Irishman he deserves an extended run.

“He told me to enjoy this trip, come back from pre-season and then we’d take things from there,” he said. “I need to hit the ground running, I know that. You can always worry about losing your sharpness.

“I always enjoy pre-season and I know how important this one is for me. I need to have a good pre-season, but I have every confidence I can come in and be a success at Celtic. I know I can fit into the manager’s plans and really kick start my Celtic career.”