McCourt grasps 'fantastic' opportunity

New Celtic recruit Pat McCourt admits he was shocked to be invited to join his boyhood heroes.

New Celtic recruit Pat McCourt admits he was shocked to be invited to join his boyhood heroes.

The 24-year-old Northern Ireland international winger last week agreed to move from Derry City on a three-year deal with the Scottish champions for an undisclosed fee.

McCourt, who was unveiled at Celtic Park this morning, said: "It's fantastic.

"It's something that I've always dreamt about my whole life and to get the opportunity to come play for this club was unbelievable. It was a shock but a good shock.

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"To be honest, I was nervous when I heard that Celtic's interest was serious. I wanted the medical and everything to go okay and it was a relief to sign.

"It's only in the last few days that I've been able to enjoy it and look forward to coming in next week. I have been here at Celtic Park as a fan before but it was fantastic to have a look again and take it all in.

"I'm not looking much further than pre-season and then I'm going to take it from there."

Court attracted the attention of top English clubs as a youngster at Rochdale but a combination of injury and loss of form saw him fail to fulfil his potential.