Celtic loan star confirms he has not held talks over permanent deal and praises 'unbelievable' fans

Celtic made it comfortably through to the Last 16 of this season's Scottish Cup on Sunday as they saw off Highland League outfit Buckie Thistle 5-0 at Parkhead.

The Hoops will now face a much sterner test in the next round, which will be played in February, having been drawn away to Premiership rivals St Mirren as they continue their defence of the trophy. Odin Thiago Holm, Kyogo Furuhashi, Luis Palma and Rocco Vata all netted goals but it was on loan midfielder Paulo Bernardo who opened the scoring in the 25th minute.

The 21-year old had to be patient after arriving in Glasgow last summer on loan from Benfica is now making the most of his run of regular game time. The Hoops have the option to make the Portuguese under 21 international's deal a permanent one but he confirmed after Sunday's match that there haven't been talks about the possibility yet.

Bernardo said: " I just think about the present, game by game, how I can improve. Then the other things will happen. I am enjoying it a lot. The fans are unbelievable and they like me, so I am feeling good too. I just have to keep going and doing things well.

"He (Brendan Rodgers) and me just want to keep things going well and to improve a lot.  To win 5-0 was a great way for us to come back after the winter break. It’s our job to score goals. We have to respect the other team and never put the foot on the break.

“We did that well today. We played a good game and enjoyed playing back at Celtic Park It’s my job to score goals too. I have to do my best. Happily everything is going well for me but I want to do more.

“I think I can do better in the second half of the season. I have to improve a lot in my game so I just have to continue to work hard and everything is going to go well. It’s my job to score goals too. I have to continue to improve and score goals and make assists, because now the football is like that.”