Jota reveals Celtic thrill ride sparked by 'little genius' who kept faith even when star didn't believe in himself

Jota is determined to stay a swashbuckling Celtic problem-solver to uphold the ideals of his iconic mentor Fernando Chalana.

The Portuguese winger is enjoying a second stunning season at Parkhead and won the PFA Scotland Goal of the Season award for his impish touch and dink over Rangers keeper Jon McLaughlin during a 4-0 Old Firm win in September. Just three weeks before when, following another 30-yard screamer against Kilmarnock, Jota paid tribute to Chalana in his celebration.

Following the death of the Benfica great four days previously, the winger ran for the cameras at Rugby Park to show a wristband bearing his ex-coach’s name. Jota was desperate to deliver for a man he said always taught him to play that bit differently, to stand out from the crowd, to be a game-changer.

The attacker remains determined to stick to the ideals taught to him by Chalana who was dubbed by the Lisbon giants after his death at the age of 63 as “our little genius”. Jota said: “He was definitely someone who believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. That says a lot of such a quality player because he saw something and I just stick with his ideas.

“He said to me, ‘Son, just be different from everyone else because football is becoming really not interesting and the ones who are going to thrive and to be better are the ones who do different stuff and can solve problems when no one can solve them’. So I just stick with those ideas. Inside the philosophy of the game of course. There are always periods during the season that you need to find this creativity and he was someone that shone every time he went on to the pitch doing whatever he was doing because he was just a special player.

“When they showed me his videos I saw each time