I’m aiming to put Ciftci back in the limelight
SAYS STEPHEN ROBINSON
LIKE a fine art restorer delicately working to put detail back in a faded painting, Stephen Robinson knows it is his job to draw the magic out of Nadir Ciftci again.
The talent within the striker was clear during his days at Dundee United.
Yet it has been all but hidden from public view after a £1.5million move to Celtic was followed by a succession of unhappy loan moves in Turkey, Poland and England.
Robinson now intends to create a brighter picture around Ciftci. Having joined Motherwell until the end of the season, the Turkish-born 25-year-old is in line to make his debut in today’s Scottish Cup derby against Hamilton Accies at Fir Park.
‘We don’t get Nadir Ciftci if he’s at the top of his game,’ admitted Robinson.
‘We don’t get a £1.5m player. We get a boy who has maybe not progressed as much as he should have done for someone with his ability — and that’s why we have him here.
‘It’s up to me to bring that confidence back, get his fitness levels up and give him a real platform to excel again.
‘He has shown us glimpses of absolute brilliance in training at times. But he does need to get fitter.
‘That’s not to say I won’t start him, throw him on (against Hamilton) for 60 minutes.
‘For someone like Nadir, I think it’s confidence — right place, right time, right club.
‘You don’t suddenly become a nothing player when you have the ability Nadir has and been at a top club like Celtic, who paid big money for him.
‘So we have to get that back out of him — and that’s what we do at Motherwell.
‘We can’t sign players for money and we can’t sign finished articles.
‘We bring in players who are needing to restart their careers and get moving again.
‘I believe we can do that. We have a coaching staff who can bring the best out of them. We are a club that looks after the players really well, with a real personal touch.’
Ciftci may have been acquainted with controversy in the past, but Robinson doesn’t fear any trouble from the Turk.
‘I’ve found Nadir to be a great boy,’ he insisted. ‘I did a lot of homework on him. I spoke to his agent Pierre van Hooijdonk and, of course, he will say the right things about the player. But he was still very honest.
‘I also spoke to Craig Hinchcliffe, part of our backroom staff, and Darren Jackson, who both worked with Nadir at Dundee United. They didn’t have a bad word for him. The perception out there is that if something doesn’t work, then the player’s a bad egg or this and that.
‘But everybody makes mistakes in life and I don’t think you should judge Nadir or write him off on the basis of the past. We’re giving him another chance here.
‘It can be very satisfying for a manager when he’s able to get the best out of a player again after a difficult spell. I’d love that to be the case with Nadir.’
Ciftci is not the only striker new to Motherwell. An 18-month deal for former Portsmouth and Middlesbrough frontman Curtis Main further helps to fill the gap left by top scorer Louis Moult’s £450,000 switch to Preston.
‘Curtis is a strong boy. He is quick and he scores goals,’ added Robinson. ‘I think people will like him. He works his socks off.
‘He is probably more similar to Louis than Nadir. I think they have the potential to be a good combination.
‘I believe that we have really bolstered our attack and that adds competition. The whole atmosphere around the place has taken a ten, 20-per-cent lift in terms of the application and the enthusiasm. It shows that we mean business.
‘We haven’t just sat about for three weeks. We’ve tried to do business to make sure we start climbing the table.’
Robinson knows that tonic was needed. Having excelled to reach the Betfred Cup final against Celtic in November, Motherwell took just two points from the subsequent eight Premiership games prior to the winter break.
The last of those losses came against today’s opponents. A 3-1 home defeat from Hamilton ended with centre-back Peter Hartley losing the plot and barging over Accies midfielder Dougie Imrie to earn a post-match red card.
‘It’s a nice, easy quiet game to get things going again, eh,’ said a deadpan Robinson. ‘It’s going to be feisty.
‘We didn’t want what happened in the last game. Obviously, it has cost Peter Hartley two games (of a ban).
‘We’re really disappointed about that and we have dealt with it internally.
‘But we’re right up for this game. We owe our supporters a little bit and we’ll come back out firing.
‘We’ve got a group of boys really determined to get back on track — which we will do.’