ANGE POSTECOGLOU says the ball is in Ryan Christie’s court over a new contract at Celtic, after the midfielder dazzled in the 6-0 demolition of Dundee.

Christie’s current deal is set to expire in January, and despite consistently being linked with a move away from the club, Celtic have opened talks over extending his stay.

Postecoglou says that the decision over his future will ultimately be Christie’s to make, but he is keen to keep the Scotland international in his squad.

“I don’t think I need to twist his arm,” Postecoglou said. “I’ve already said that if this doesn’t convince him, I don’t think anything can.

“I think they are more questions for Ryan than me. I’d love to have him as part of the club.

“All I can do is treat people as I have seen them, and he has been fantastic from the moment I’ve come into the place.

“With the way he’s training and the way he’s playing his football, he’s a fantastic footballer and he suits the way I want to play.

“But I’m not the master of his future, that’s in his hands.”

Christie got three assists in a game where striker Kyogo Furuhashi scored a hat-trick, and when asked for his thoughts on Christie’s performance, Postecoglou said: “Brilliant. He’s been good in every game to be fair. His performances have been excellent, he’s training well and he’s enjoying his football.

“I played him on the left today, but we know he is versatile and can play elsewhere in the team as well.

“He got his assists today and I thought he was a key part of what we were doing.”

Unsurprisingly, the Celtic manager was also full of praise for the rest of his team.

“It was good, it was pleasing,” he said.

“I know you were all emphasising the fact that we had to get a win today to start off our season after last week’s disappointing result, particularly here at home, but I as just as keen for a strong performance.

“That was the pleasing thing, it was a strong performance.

“We started the game well with really good intent, being aggressive, and we got our goals.

“That gave us the confidence and the best part of it was that we didn’t let up. Right until the end we were still trying to score goals, and I think that sort of intent gives our fans the impression of the kind of team we want to be.”