Stephen Welsh tells Celtic they're getting an upgrade as matches in Belgium trump medals in Glasgow for now

Welsh has established himself as a regular at KV Mechelen and insists heading out on loan is the best thing he's ever done

Stephen Welsh is in no doubt he will be returning to Celtic a far better player this summer.

The young defender is currently benefiting from a fruitful loan at KV Mechelen.

Welsh might have missed out on the Hoops’ 55th title clincher at the weekend but he did hit his own personal ton.

He made his 100th senior appearance in the 2-2 draw at Westerlo and it was all part of his grand masterplan to get games when he asked Brendan Rodgers to go out on loan in the January window.

Welsh, speaking in an exclusive interview with Record Sport, said: “100% I will go back to Celtic as a better player.

“Tactically, technically I am better and I am also a lot fitter with the regular game time and being up to speed playing every week.

“I will also be going back much improved having played regularly in one of Europe’s top leagues.

“Whatever happens I am going back as a better player and person. I have also matured a lot, living away from and outside of Glasgow.

“It has been good going to a club where I know if I do well I will play.

“It has given me a lot of confidence to go out and play and show I can be an important member of a team.”

Mechelen and the talented 25-year-old still have four games of the season left. There is still an outside chance they could pip Charleroi to a Europa Conference League place. Welsh is not looking beyond that or what might be next season.

He admitted: “I am just thinking about these last four games and playing as well as I can.

“We will probably need to win them all if we want to finish top of our section and to qualify for Europe.

“We will see what happens in the summer. I will obviously go back to Celtic.

“I have two years left and so the plan is to go back to Celtic. I will go back to pre-season and see what happens from there on.

“I have spoken to Darren O’Dea and John Kennedy a few times, asking me how I am getting on. I just like to get my head down and get on with it, as I have done throughout my career.”

Welsh might have missed out on a league and Premier Sports Cup double and potentially a treble, but Welsh knew at this stage of his career he needed regular game time.

It helped that Mechelen had been long-term admirers and had been chasing him since the summer.

Welsh stated: “I have loved every minute of it. I think it is the best thing I have done, it is almost like a refresh for six months to go and play football at a top level.

“I wanted to go out on loan a couple of months before January. I had it in my head that if I wasn’t going to play at Celtic then I needed to go and play elsewhere.

“Mechelen actually came in for me in the summer and Celtic knocked it back. So, I knew there was an interest and they were still looking for a centre half when I became available.”

Welsh knew the quality of the Belgian Pro League when he watched Celtic take on Club Brugge in the Champions League from the bench.

He stated: “I was a no-brainer for me because the Belgian league is a top league. We also played Club Brugge in the Champions League and they were unbelievable.

“It is not until you play here that you see the quality. The level has been even higher than I thought it would be, coming up against some top teams and players.

“I think in the first few games we played the top four teams in the league and that is where I immediately saw what I was coming into.”

Welsh joked that he felt very much at home when he made his debut in Mechelen. They also take to the field to a Celtic anthem at the AFAS Stadium

He said: “You’ll Never Walk Alone, we sing that before games. I didn’t know that.

“I was standing in the tunnel for our first home game and it came on. “I was bizarre but I think a few teams across Europe now play that as well.

“We also have: ‘You’ll never work alone’ across the stadium but that is down to one of our sponsors.”

It hasn’t been all plain sailing at KV Mechelen. Frederik Vanderbiest stepped up to replace Besnik Hasi as manager in March. It has worked in Welsh’s favour as he has played regularly.

“The style of play is really good and we play good football,” the Celtic academy graduate claimed.

“I saw we had real quality players and we just needed someone to make us click as a team. “The manager found a system to get the best out of the players and we went on a run.

“The highlight for me is that I have started the last seven games in a row now. The reason why I came here was to play as many games as I can.

“It was my 100th game on Saturday. I would have liked to have done it earlier but, as a centre half, you can play until your late 30s, so hopefully I will have plenty of years ahead of me.

“I’m sure I will have plenty more centuries to come.”

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