RONNY DEILA, the Celtic manager, has ruled out the prospect of Stefan Scepovic being sent out on loan next month and suggested it would be premature for anyone to pass judgement on the striker at this point.
RONNY DEILA, the Celtic manager, has ruled out the prospect of Stefan Scepovic being sent out on loan next month and suggested it would be premature for anyone to pass judgement on the striker at this point.
Scepovic, a £2.5m deadline-day arrival from Sporting Gijon in August, has scored just twice in three months and has not played in Celtic??s last four games.
Levante have been credited with an interest in taking the 24 year-old back to Spain when the window re-opens on January 1 but, despite having placed John Guidetti, Leigh Griffiths and Anthony Stokes ahead of him in the pecking order, Deila does not want to let Scepovic move on, and suggests that the player needs more time to settle in to a new country.
??It [Scepovic going out on loan] is not an option,?? said the Norwegian. ??I??m not interested in that. Stefan has a future here. His chance will come. You move to a new country, with a new language and new people. It takes time.
??Everything is new and then you add the football. Spanish football is different to here. It can be like another game. Then there is the training and getting to know the other people around the club and feeling safe. It takes time to adapt.
??The first time you go to work at a new place, you have to learn about being there. It was the same for me when I joined the club. I had to know everyone and wondered where to start.
??It??s the same for players and we have to make the environment as clear as possible for people and also make it warm so they adapt quickly.
??It??s been tough competition for him. But, again, every player has been through tough times. Leigh Griffiths has been through tough times and we??ve been working hard with him. Now he??s being [rewarded] for all the hard work he??s done.
??If you see players who you bring in from south Europe to Britain, it takes time for them to settle. Sometimes at least six months to get into the environment and understand it. Stefan will come, though. Of course he is impatient; he wants things to happen now.
??But he has to adapt to the way we play and train. His chances will come. With him, or Leigh, or the other players, you have to take your chance when you get it.??
Scepovic has already been loaned out five times in his career but Deila does not think another temporary move is what the player needs. ??Stefan had been loaned out in the past because he needed experience. But this is different because he was sold to us. He was wanted more by Sporting Gijon in Spain to stay, but we wanted him and bought him. It??s way too early to talk about whether it has been good or not. We will see after the season is over.??
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