Teenage starlet is Col hearted in his pursuit of dream

FROM a Bhoy to a man. It was the night that Colby Donovan came of age in the Hoops.

- BY RYAN MCDONALD

Now, the teen dreams of becoming the next legendary homegrown hero.

It's been a whirlwind month or so for the Celtic academy starlet.

One minute he was turning out for the B team in the Challenge Cup against Clyde. The next he found himself fast-tracked as Brendan Rodgers’ emergency right-back.

And the lifelong fan is loving every second of his dream - yet unexpected - opportunity.

Donovan didn't look out of place at all in his first European start in Belgrade.

In fact, he was one of the standouts for the Scottish champions inside one of Europe’s most intimidating arenas.

So it's no wonder the 19-year-old is pinching himself at his meteoric rise.

He said: “It's mental. But ever since I was a boy at this club it’s been my dream to play for the first team and in a big game like this. I'm over the moon.”

Donovan was chucked into the deep end on a difficult night in front of a fiercely partisan home crowd.

With only four senior appearances under his belt, plenty of rookies would have melted under the intense atmosphere.

But the fearless Scotland Under-19 international showed maturity beyond his years by grabbing his chance with both hands.

He said: ‘I try to block out the nerves every game I play, whether it’s a friendly or a league game or my European debut.

“I just try to cut out the nerves and play my own game.