FORMER Celtic starlet Kerr McInroy has expressed hope the lessons he learned playing alongside his one-time Parkhead club mates Stuart Armstrong, Scott Brown and Callum McGregor will help him make a major impact at cinch Premiership new boys Kilmarnock.
McInroy signed a two year deal with the promoted Rugby Park outfit last week after being impressed by Derek McInnes’s vision for the Championship champions and he is looking forward to playing in the top flight for the first time in the 2022/23 season
The 21-year-old, who has gone out on loan to Dunfermline Athletic, Airdrieonians and Ayr United in the past two seasons to gain experience, never made a competitive appearance for the Glasgow giants.
However, Brendan Rodgers handed the defensive midfielder game time during pre-season when he was Celtic manager and he believes he benefited from featuring alongside established first team players Armstrong, Brown and McGregor.
"I did pre-season with Brendan Rodgers, went away with Neil Lennon too and also did last season with the new manager Ange Postecoglou,” he said. "It was good to learn from them.
"Brendan was really good with me, I learnt a lot from him and it was a good learning curve. It opened my eyes to the level I was playing at, being beside the likes of Scott Brown, Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong. They were good to learn from everyday.
“I've had loans in the Championship and League One since. I was a young player, I didn't want to sit about at Celtic, I wanted to go out and play. I wanted to prove myself in the lower leagues first. I feel like I've done that as I scored a few goals and played a lot of games.
"It was a wee bit of a culture shock going on loan, it was a wee bit different. But the clubs I have been at have been really good with me. I learnt a lot on my loans as you have to go out in the real world and that was good for me.
"But my view was I had enough of the loans, I wanted to get settled and play football and Celtic helped me with that by letting me go. I have done the loans, it's good playing games but you need to be in somewhere and playing.
"It's good to get settled somewhere and it's somewhere I'll be for at least a couple of years. It'll be good for me. I am delighted to finally being in the Premiership. Hopefully I can do the same in this league. I can't wait to get started.
"It was kind of out of my hands a wee bit, but it's definitely what I wanted, I wanted to get away and build my own reputation rather than hear 'aw he's a loan player from Celtic'. I wanted to be a Killie player.”
McInroy, who has represented Scotland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level in the past, suffered a serious injury when he was a teenager and is hoping that he can finally fulfil his potential with Kilmarnock in the new season.
"When I was 18 I did my cruciate and was out for nearly a year,” he said. "I played a few pre-season games with Celtic's first team and made the bench a couple of times, but then the injury happened which set me back for 10 months.
"It was in a reserve game. I bashed it and played on, but five minutes later it just went on me and I instantly knew it was something bad. Ideally it wouldn't have happened at all, but if that's going to be my only injury then I'd rather it was out of the way early. I still have plenty of time to get the body into the swing of things, my rehab was good.
"Then Covid happened and things just didn't work out for me. It was tough being so young and dealing with that. Some boys might start feeling sorry for themselves, but it is what it is. I came back and Celtic didn't see me in the plans. I wasn't bothered to be honest, I just wanted to play games.”
McInroy had no hesitation committing his future to Kilmarnock after speaking to McInnes, who led the Ayrshire outfit back into the top flight after taking over from Tommy Wright in January, about his plans.
"It felt good knowing he wanted to sign me,” he said. "I met him for a coffee. As soon as I met him I had a good feeling and I think he was the same with me. I was keen to come and get it signed. I want to work with him.
"It was a big draw looking at the players he's worked with and what level he got them to. It gave me a good feeling. I don't see why we can't look up rather than down, we have a good group of boys to be honest. I don't see why we can't go and have a go.
"That's what I am here to do, I want to play as many games as possible this season. I want to do as well as I can, hopefully I can play in every game there is. I feel like I am ready to make the step up and prove myself at this level.”
