Celtic winger Gary Mackay-Steven believes he's a better player since working his way back into Ronny Deila's team.

The 25-year-old found himself out of favour in the first half of the season but has started the last seven games since the 8-1 win at home to Hamilton Accies in January, scoring four times in the process.

The sides meet again on Friday evening at New Douglas Park and Mackay-Steven hopes his form can continue to have an impact. He says Deila's style of play has helped him improve his overall game.

"The training is at a high tempo here so you become really fit," he said. "The manager wants the wide men to contribute going forward and back so that’s what I've tried to do.

"I've improved defensively since I've come here, and tactically. That’s something we do a lot of work on in training so that side of things have been beneficial for me."

Mackay-Steven has faced a tough challenge to maintain his place in Deila's starting line-up with over a dozen players competing for a role in the midfield.

He says it's a problem the Norwegian will be relishing though, and as a result it has made training both competitive and enjoyable.

"The manager has a headache every week because I think most of the boys are fit now and performing well in training," he continued. "There’s great competition and it’s keeping everyone on their toes.

"Training is quite competitive at times, certainly there’s a few meaty challenges here and there but it’s all in good faith. We all get on with each other and it’s fun to be around, the more competition the better."