ANTHONY Stokes said last night that he likes Ronny Deila but the feeling doesn’t appear to be mutual.

The Republic of Ireland international feels that the Celtic manager simply “doesn’t rate him” and plans to use his time at Hibs to prove him wrong before returning to Parkhead in the summer to pick up where he left off.

Some Celtic fans might prefer Stokes to be playing for them right now rather than in the Ladbrokes Championship but their opinion doesn’t appear to be shared by the club’s manager, who hasn’t included him in his team since August 22 against Dundee United, a match where Celtic rested many top team stars ahead of the Champions League qualifier against Malmo.

“Pity they’re not picking the team, isn’t it?” said Stokes. “Listen, I don’t know what it is. I speak to Ronny Deila on a regular basis and we have plenty of conversations. I like him, he is a good fella, but he obviously doesn’t rate me as a footballer because if he did I would be in the team.

“I think you always have a point to prove,” he added. “I’m a Celtic player, there is a year option on my contract and I want to go back there. I have every intention of going back to Celtic next year and trying to get into the team. It is the club that I want to stay at so it is as simple as that.”

If you can’t be at Celtic, being at Hibs in a title race against Rangers might just be the next best thing. Stokes, who scored 23 goals during his first stint at the club, disappointed Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Dundee United, as well as Championship sides like Charlton Athletic and Rotherham to return to Easter Road. While red tape will prevent him from featuring in the L eague Cup final should Hibs meet Celtic there, he can face Hearts in the Scottish Cup fifth round and is at least one Celtic player with a meeting with Rangers pencilled into the diary, a potentially crucial league meeting in March. There is sure to be a huge focus on his performances, not least from Celtic fans intrigued as to whether he can deny the Ibrox side the title.

There is a feeling at Easter Road that Stokes could be the final piece in the jigsaw in the league race and the Irishman for one sees it as a chance to win something. The 27-year-old comes into the squad immediately for the meeting with St Mirren on Saturday, having been welcomed by his former team-mates Liam Henderson and Dylan McGeouch, even if he was unsuccessful in persuading the latter to give him his No 10 shirt. Kevin Thomson will also sign for Hibs today.

“If we win the league here, it won’t be down to me – it will be down to the team,” said Stokes, who spent yesterday in a court in Dublin seeing trial for allegations of assault put back ten months. “But I want to help Hibs as much as I possibly can and get as close as we can to winning the title.

“That is one of the main reasons I came here, because it’s an opportunity to win something. If we can put a bit of pressure on Rangers, that’s what you have to do in run-ins for titles, keep putting pressure on the opposition and see who comes out on top. There are big games coming up, Heart s in the cup, Rangers in March, so I’m looking forward to it.”

The other factor providing motivation for the player is the chance to win back a berth in Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland squad for the European Championships in France this summer. Stokes has been kept on stand-by even when idle at Parkhead and would cherish the chance to represent his country again.

“I have been involved in most Irish squads since I was 17, 18, and it is one of the biggest things I will always look back on in my career,” he said. “Of course going to the championships with them would be unbelieveable but it is down to me and my performances. I think it is in my hands now.

“I didn’t speak to Martin, I just had a good feeling on coming here,” he added. “I probably didn’t want to be swayed on it because

I didn’t know what way he might have looked at it! I think he has been very fair with me on everything. I want to get back on with my football and hopefully something can happen with that.”

Stubbs said he was delighted to have landed such a motivated, talented player and was happy to help in any way possible with his international ambitions. “I think any player with the quality he has got should still have that ambition,” said Stubbs.

“I hope for Anthony’s sake that he has an opportunity where, if he does really well, he may just gatecrash that squad. I think that will be difficult because Martin is very loyal, but never say never.

I can assure you he’s motivated.

I wouldn’t have brought him here if that wasn’t the case.”