Ex-Celtic defender Moritz Jenz has backed his old club to retain the Scottish  Premiership, pinpointing the return of Cameron Carter-Vickers as a turning point.

The American international returned to action against Lazio and also played 60 minutes against Kilmarnock.

And Jenz, who spent the first half of last season on loan at the Hoops, feels the centre-back will make a real difference.

Speaking to the Scottish Sun, he said: "It was a bit of a difficult start to the season, with the new manager and then two new centre-halves joining.

"The new guys are young and aren't very experienced at that level. They were coming to a big club and had to perform every week.

"It's not easy. You could sense there was a bit of a nervousness about the team. But with Cameron back, there will be stability again, and they will stroll through the league like always.

"CCV has so much ability and the other defenders will have confidence because of his experience.

"He will guide the younger lads and Liam Scales. We mostly played all the games together when I was there and it was a nice partnership.

"We trusted each other, we had respect and I really like CCV as a person. I enjoyed it, and a lot of players will enjoy playing with him.

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"Sometimes you have centre-back partners who aren't very open to agreeing to things when the other one is asking an opinion.

"CCV was always listening and it was a good relationship. There was a strong bond, and you knew it was very difficult to beat this pairing because they understood each other blind.

"That's what I really enjoyed about my time with him. I just love seeing Cameron back on the pitch, shining like always."