Deila expects Kazim-Richards to lead by example at Celtic

Celtic manager Ronny Deila believes new signing Colin Kazim-Richards can be a leader in the Parkhead dressing room.

The 29-year-old joined Celtic from Feyenoord on Monday fresh from a two-week suspension by the Dutch club following a confrontation with a journalist.

The London-born Turkey international has had an eventful career which includes a conviction for making a homophobic gesture to fans of Brighton, one of his former clubs.

Former Brighton boss Mark McGhee once described him as "impossible to work with" but Deila is confident the forward will be a positive influence.

"Kazim is an experienced player who has qualities and can be a leader in the group," said the Norwegian, who is unlikely to play Kazim-Richards or fellow newcomer Patrick Roberts against Aberdeen on Wednesday night.

"He's not the first player I have had with issues. When you have cameras around you all the time, there are always things coming up.

"But I talked a lot with him and he's motivated to play for Celtic. He's going to be a very good signing.

"He is very physical, he is very strong keeping the ball up.

"He has personality and that is important when you have young players. He is used to, at Feyenoord, playing in a team with a lot of young players around him and being a leader in that team.

"He had a fantastic last season for Feyenoord. We think he will suit the style of play here and the league and also make a difference in Europe."

Deila also signed Manchester City winger Roberts on loan on deadline day.

"Patrick comes from City with great skills," he said. "He's a talented boy and we are getting him for a longer period (18 months) so we can really work with him and get him up to an even better level. He is a technical player, he is quick and sharp, he can see a pass and he can excite the fans."

Celtic fans are in need of excitement after Sunday's League Cup semi-final defeat by Ross County and Deila can understand anger directed towards him.

But he believes his Premiership leaders can transform the mood among the Celtic support when they take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie, although they will be without centre-back Jozo Simunovic, who is out for four to six weeks with a knee injury.

Deila said: "They are disappointed, I really, really understand. When you have big ambitions and something lets you down, you get angry. I understand that from the fans as well. If not, they didn't care and that's the worst thing.

"Nothing is straightforward in football. I hope so but it's always up or down, it's very rare that it's in between. I have to see a longer perspective. January has been very good, we scored a lot of goals, the team performed very well.

"The first 12 minutes (on Sunday) were fantastic but we got caught and had a very difficult match when we had 10 men.

"We were very disappointed after the weekend but we have a very important game again. We can put ourselves in a very important position now. We have everything to play for at Pittodrie.

"If we go nine points clear that would be very good and it would be very, very hard to catch us."

Meanwhile, Deila has assured Nadir Ciftci that he has a Celtic future after being loaned to Eskisehirspor until the summer.

"He was very, very keen to get out and play consistently," Deila said.

"He's a young player still and we thought that was a good idea.

"They come from smaller clubs and it's a tough environment here. To give people chances is tough because you have to perform, you need to win all the time.

"He's been here for six months, he has felt it, now he can go out and play and absorb all the things he has been through here at Celtic. When he comes back, he should be more ready."

And Deila admits he could go back in for 17-year-old Start midfielder Kristoffer Ajer in the summer after the Norwegian's trial.

"We were impressed with what he did here," he said. "We'll see if something happens. It didn't happen this window but we will keep on watching him and see what we can do in the summer."