Anthony Stokes vows to fight for his Celtic future
Thursday 17 December 2015 16:50, UK
Anthony Stokes has vowed to fight for his Celtic future after returning to training following his recent suspension.
The Republic of Ireland striker turned up at Lennoxtown this week after a two-week ban for indiscipline issues, including using social media to express his disappointment at being left out of the matchday squad in Inverness after travelling to the Highlands.
Stokes' Celtic contract runs out in the summer and a move south had been mooted in order for him to find regular playing time. He has made only two appearances this season, the last in a 3-1 win at Dundee United in August, and has failed to find the target for the club in over a year.
However, when asked if the 27-year-old had a future at the club, manager Ronny Deila said: "Yes, of course he has and that is important.
I love Stokesy, I have nothing wrong to say about him. But this is a professional football club and we want to get the best out of everybody
"He loves Celtic and he wants to stay here but he also understands that he needs to improve certain things. I love Stokesy, I have nothing wrong to say about him. But this is a professional football club and we want to get the best out of everybody.
"Motherwell is going to be too quick. He has not trained for a couple of weeks so he needs time to show and again, this is to show over time, it is not about one week, it is about changing over time.
"We have had a talk with him, he is humble, an intelligent guy. He knows what I expect and the changes he needs to make to be part of the first team or the squad and we have to see through time if those changes are going to be made.
"He has apologised. I talked to him before so this is nothing new. We had to make a mark, we did it and now we move on. He has ability and when you have ability it is about getting the best out of it and that is my task. I will never give up.
"I believe that people will change. I believe that people want to get better and then I have to do everything I can to get out their potential. If we can get the best out of Stokesy everybody knows that we have a great player."
Deila then revealed the club could not get in touch with 24-year-old midfielder James Forrest's agent to discuss a new contract for the Scotland winger.
"We have tried to get hold of his agent so you can write that when he has time, he can come in and discuss an offer," the Norwegian quipped.
"We have tried for a while so hopefully he will come - like Santa. Maybe he has a lot to do. I don't know how many players he has. It doesn't concern me but hopefully we will get contact now and start talking."
Deila also paid tribute to Billy McNeill whose statue will be unveiled outside the stadium before Saturday's game.
"I knew about him before I came here," Deila said of Celtic's 1967 European Cup-winning captain. "He is a legend at the club.
"He has played around 800 times for the club, the amount of trophies he has won is unbelievable. He was the captain of the Lisbon Lions in 1967, he is a big personality at Celtic and it is a big day on Saturday. This is very deserved."
