Ben Doak and his Celtic champion who sparked Dundee United show of faith in 16-year-old

Ange Postecoglou says Stephen McManus can take the credit for bringing Ben Doak into the Celtic first-team.

And he reckons a first-team debut will have been a major learning curve for the 16-year-old.

Doak emerged from the bench against Dundee United as he replaced Anthony Ralston with 20 minutes remaining.

He has long been tipped for a big future and Record Sport reported earlier this month that he is on Liverpool 's radar.

Doak didn't look out of his depth mixing it with the senior pros and Postecoglou says that's because he has been training with the first-team for a while.

But he admits it was coach McManus who made the call to bring him into the senior set-up.

"Ben's been training with us for a while," he said. "It was Stephen McManus who brought him into the group.

"He's a fantastic kid who comes from a good family. He looked really composed for his age.

"He'll have grown up a bit today, it will give him a different perspective on life. He probably would have been on the other side of the terracing if he hadn't been playing."

Doak is currently on a youth contract at Celtic and it's believed the club are pushing to tie him down on professional terms.