Kazim-Richards 'can't stop smiling' after sealing move to Celtic

Colin Kazim-Richards brushed off his controversial reputation as he insisted he could be a role model for Celtic's young players.

The 29-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half year deal with Celtic after joining from Feyenoord for an undisclosed but modest fee two weeks after he was suspended by the club for allegedly threatening a Dutch journalist.

The London-born Turkey international showed nothing but politeness as he conducted his first press conference as a Celtic player, thanking reporters for "coming out so late".

Kazim-Richards has had a colourful career on and off the park in England, Turkey, France and Holland and was once described by Motherwell boss Mark McGhee as "impossible to work with" following their time together at Brighton. But the forward is not concerned by others' opinions and believes his committed approach is the reason he often makes a stir.

When asked about having a reputation, he said: "I just get on with my football and it's you guys' job to do everything else. It's just your opinion, it's not unfair.

"Coming to Celtic is about Celtic and then it's about Colin Kazim-Richards. People might think sometimes it's about Colin Kazim-Richards because I give that much all the time. But I think I will gel well.

"Last year I played some of the best football I have played so with this opportunity it just meshes. It's a win-win situation."

When asked if people's perceptions frustrate him, he said: "It doesn't annoy me. For me, (Lionel) Messi is the best player in the world but to you maybe he's not. Someone is always going to have something to say no matter what as a footballer.

"That's just the way the game is and that's what makes it the best and the worst game. You can ask 10 people who I am and you might get 10 different answers, just like any other footballer in the world. I don't think I'm any different."

Kazim-Richards has spent the bulk of his career abroad, leaving England as a teenager following a spell at Sheffield United, although he did have a season on loan at Blackburn in 2012-13, after which he was fined at Brighton Magistrates Court for making a homophobic gesture to his former club's fans.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't really want to come back to Britain," he said.

"To be able to do the things I have been able to do and experience the experiences I have, I didn't think I could get it from anywhere in the UK. But then this opportunity came.

"To try and play in the Champions League again with a club like this, and to be able to win things with a club like this, is what I have been searching for going to Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Olympiacos.

"Now I've got it back at home and I can't stop smiling because it's a massive opportunity for me."

He added: "I've got two kids, I'm a family man, I'm more mature. I left here when I was 19 and I went to Turkey.

"Whether I am Turkish or not, I didn't grow up in Turkey, so it was still a massive, massive culture shock for me.

"And I think personally I coped with it well and I've become a better man and ultimately a better footballer.

"How am I going to handle the pressure? I've been around and I played at big clubs. Maybe it's not as intense as it can be here, but I've got a genuine feeling of how it can be.

"We have some young players here and sometimes it can be scary as a young player playing in front of this type of atmosphere and bleeding green and white every single day. And I can help them with that."