Celtic winger James Forrest says he is desperate to prove his fitness and play his part in helping the Parkhead side with their hectic festive schedule.
The Hoops, who were drawn against Italian giants Juventus in the Champions League second round draw on Thursday, have five games in 15 days over the Christmas and New Year period starting with Saturday's game against Ross County.
Forrest has been out of action with a hamstring injury since the 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Parkhead in the SPL at the end of October but returned to full training this week.
The 21-year-old is hopeful of making a first-team appearance again before the two-week winter break at the start of January.
However, Forrest says if he doesn't make it then he has complete confidence in his team-mates' abilities to guide Celtic safely through the busy schedule of games.
"It is a squad game and if I can't play then we will have others who can come into the team and do a good job," the Scotland international said.
"I watched the game with Arbroath last month and thought the young lads who came in that day, Joe Chalmers, Rabiu Ibrahim and Dylan McGeouch, all did very well.
"Okay, at the end of the 90 minutes the team didn't win and perhaps that looks bad to some people. But the overall performance was decent.
"Yes, we should be looking to win every game that we play at home, be it in the league or cup or in Europe, and can have no excuses if we fail to do so.
"But the stats after the Arbroath game showed that we had 19 shots on target. It was really just one of those games where we couldn't get the ball in the back of the net, try as we might.
"The young lads who were involved all train with the first team and any time a place becomes available they are all looking for a start.
"We have got a lot of guys in the squad, but that can only help us at this time when we have two games every other week.
"With the number of games we have in the cup, the league and in Europe everyone is going to be called on to play at some point and they will get their chance."
Manager Neil Lennon will be without Welsh midfielder Joe Ledley and Kris Commons for the match against Ross County due to injury.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Inverness will look to seize back second spot when they take on bottom of the table Dundee at the Caledonian Stadium.
Aberdeen, who have only won twice at home all season, will try to improve on that record when St Johnstone visit Pittodrie.
On Sunday, Hibernian will want to get back to winning ways after two straight defeats in the SPL when they travel to take on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
Edinburgh rivals Hearts could break into the top six with a win at home against Dundee United.
On Friday, St Mirren defeated visiting Motherwell, 2-1.
Fixtures (1500 unless otherwise stated)
Saturday
Aberdeen v St Johnstone, Celtic v Ross County, Inverness CT v Dundee
Sunday
Kilmarnock v Hibernian (1245), Hearts v Dundee United (1630)
Source: AFP
