CIFTCI LOOKS TO RIGHT WRONGS OF THE PAST
WHEN Nadir Ciftci perches upon a kit hamper laid down in a Fir Park corridor, you are tempted to ask whether it contains all the baggage of his recent past.
Joining Motherwell until the end of the season is his fourth loan spell away from Celtic in the space of just two years. Turkish club Eskisehirspor, Pogon Szczecin in Poland and Plymouth Argyle of England’s League One all previously saw precious little return from hiring the striker on a temporary basis. After the high of completing a £1.5million move to Parkhead from Dundee United in the summer of 2015, Ciftci’s career began to tumble downhill.
When the same disappointments occur in different corners of the world, people start to ask questions of the individual.
As polite and engaging an offfield personality as you’ll find, Ciftci denies that any significant problems existed in relationships with the list of managers who have granted him only minimal game-time. In any case, he now intends for actions to speak louder than words on that front.
His immediate desire is to repay the faith invested in him by Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson over the next four months. Beyond that, the 25-year-old hopes the door will remain open on resurrecting his Celtic career.
‘In the transfer windows, there were loads of clubs who were interested,’ said Ciftci, when asked about perceptions of the past two seasons.
‘But then they look back at things and they ask the questions about why you have not played. We explain the fair bits and then it is up to them whether they want to take it or not.
‘There have never really been problems. There have been decisions taken by managers. You try to explain that. This manager here knows everything about it and that is why he has given me this chance.
‘Of course, there has been frustration. You just want to play football and I haven’t played that much football for whatever reason.
‘But I wouldn’t say the past couple of years have been lost years. More like experience. I have learned a lot in this period when I haven’t played, all the ups and downs and everything. It can happen to any player in the world — the best, the worst.’
After so long without a successful deployment, some will query whether Ciftci can recapture the kind of form that first attracted Celtic.
‘Is that harsh?’ he mused. ‘I don’t know. At the end of the day, people are human. If someone wants the best player to come into their team and they think that I haven’t played or this or that, then fair enough.
‘But if a manager like Stephen Robinson thinks he can get the best out of me again, then you can look at it that way as well.
‘That’s why I am really appreciative that he has given me this chance to go out there and show what I can do.’
Ciftci didn’t score in eight appearances for Plymouth before his loan with Derek Adams’ side was cut short. It will take an almighty leap to go from that position to playing an active part for Celtic next season, but the Turkish forward feels shining for Motherwell could prove to Brendan Rodgers that he is not yet finished at Parkhead.
‘Everything is possible,’ he insisted. ‘You look at some of the players at Celtic, Dedryck Boyata being an example.
‘I am really close to him as a friend and you know that when Brendan Rodgers first came in, he was completely out of the picture. Suddenly he got into the team.
‘There are so many examples of players like that across football.
‘I am under contract for another 18 months (at Celtic). At the moment, thinking about Motherwell would be the best and healthiest way to give everything. This is a chance for me to prove again, to show everything again — then we will see what happens.’
Ciftci made only four substitute appearances under Rodgers last season before being farmed out to Pogon Szczecin.
‘I have always had good chats and a good relationship with Brendan himself,’ he stressed. ‘I have never had a problem with him as a manager.
‘Managers make their decisions and, in terms of playing time, it didn’t really work out for me. But I have learned so much from him in the time I have worked beside him.
‘Maybe I haven’t really played that much for Celtic yet. I haven’t really given everything that I would love to.
‘Trust me, though, inside of me I gave them everything I had and everything they expected me to give them.’
Certainly, Ciftci has developed a positive early impression since joining in time for a winter training camp in Tenerife. The atmosphere inside Robinson’s squad reminds him of those name-making days under Jackie McNamara at Dundee United.
‘It feels very similar here,’ added Ciftci, who could make his debut in tomorrow’s Scottish Cup derby against Hamilton despite being short of match fitness.
‘The dressing room, the people around the club, it feels like a family.
‘I remember doing an interview not long after I joined Dundee United, when I said it felt like a big family. I can say it is exactly the same here.’