ALLAN JOHNSTON has hailed the progress of Paul McMullan and believes that the on-loan winger will be a man in demand this summer.

The Pars boss however has not ruled out an attempt to try and keep the Celtic man on a permanent basis if his parent club decide not to renew his existing deal.

The 20-year-old's consistent performances have led to him becoming one of the first names on his manager's teamsheet, keeping players of the calibre of Joe Cardle and Michael Paton out of the side.

McMullan has admitted he is looking to put himself in the shop window – stressing that he'd like "as many options as possible" – when his contract at Parkhead finishes at the end of the season and one of those could well be the opportunity to stick around at East End Park.

On talk of a possible contract offer, Johnston said: "It's a wee bit early for that but he's someone who has impressed us. We like his attitude, we like the way he's playing and I'm sure there might be a couple of teams looking at him. We might not be the only team but other boys are playing well as well, so hopefully we can get ourselves in a good position (in the league) and start sorting some of these boys out.

"I think he's improved a lot since the start of the season, in terms of his end product and I think he's been more direct. It's good to see him add a couple of goals but the other side of the game – tracking back and trying to win the ball back – is something I think the fans like as well. They like to see work rate and skill; there's nothing better when you see someone going by somebody for me. I love seeing that; you can't beat a bit of skill and a bit of pace, and he brings that to the team.

"He's good player but is another one who needs to keep on doing what he's done the last however many games he's played. He's had the consistency but needs to make sure he doesn't let his standards drop because you can see guys like Joe Cardle coming on and the impact he made (at Alloa in the Scottish Cup), Michael Paton's desperate to get back in, David Hopkirk's waiting to get back in, so we've got a lot of quality waiting to get back in the team."