STEFAN SCEPOVIC has spent much of his short spell at Celtic on the outside looking in.

It's an objective viewpoint that has helped to bring firmly into focus the task in hand for the Serbian.

Scepovic arrived on September 1 from Sporting Gijon in a £2.7million, four-year deal that indicated the faith that Ronny Deila had in the 24-year-old frontman to play a major part in his team's domestic and continental campaigns.

Yet despite his transfer fee and unveiling as the Hoops' marquee swoop on deadline day, his arrival was somewhat overshadowed by that of fellow forward John Guidetti, whose loan move from Manchester City was only confirmed a few days later as a result of Uefa's intervention.

That shadow continued to hang over him as the Swede hit the ground running while the man Celtic had actually paid money for sat on the bench with the handbrake on.

Yet Scepovic used his time on the periphery wisely to make sure that when he did get his chance in the spotlight, he was ready to take it.

After coming off the bench in four consecutive matches, the towering hitman has since gone on to hit two goals in his most recent two starts.

That included grabbing his first strike for the club in the 2-1 Europa League win over Romania's FC Astra.

Talking at Lennoxtown as he helped to launch the Celtic FC Foundation's Christmas appeal, Scepovic admitted that life through a long lens had helped him grow into the focal point of the Celtic attack he always knew he could be.

"When I came here at first I was looking on more from the bench," he said. "I was trying to learn what the manager wanted and what the other players on the field could do.

"Maybe when I came here I did not understand how to press the other team.

"But we've worked on this in training and now everything is much better."

Scepovic, who notched 23 goals in 41 games for Spanish second division side Sporting Gijon last season, added: "The most important thing here at Celtic is that we win games.

"But I am a striker and it is also important for me to score goals. It is very good for my confidence. I always believe in myself and I have to maintain that in every training session and all the time on the pitch."

There is now a belief among many at Celtic that Scepovic can not only emerge from the shadow of Guidetti but also flourish alongside him.

The pair started alongside each other for the first time in Sunday's 2-0 league win over Kilmarnock when the pair shared the Hoops' goals.

THESE days it is a rarity for a modern manager to play with a rigid 4-4-2, and on most occasions this season Hoops gaffer Deila has chosen to experiment with the deep squad he has at his disposal.

But, domestically at least, 4-4-2 is a system which helps to create a plethora of chances, as it did against Killie.

Scepovic said: "I feel I work well with John.

"Of course, it is always the manager's decision who will play but we are just here to help the team. It is good when you have competition in your team and have good players.

"You need to be 100% when you get a chance to play.

"I said that I would need time to adapt to the football here but I am training hard.

"The manager and all of my team-mates are helping me to adapt quickly here.

The talent possessed by Scepovic was recognised long before he arrived in Scotland.

The Belgrade-born star has built a reputation as one of his country's best prospects, a label validated by his eight international caps to date.

It is a tally he's accumulated despite being bounced around between clubs and countries for the last six years, including five loan spells. After starting with OFK Beograd he played two games for Sampdoria in Italy's Serie A. He then had spells in Belgium and Israel before sparkling in Spain.

But with his feet now firmly under the table at Celtic Park, Scepovic believes he can add to his collection of caps.

Serbia have two Euro 2016 qualifiers next month and he is hopeful he can continue his recent scoring run to attract the notice of his national boss - a certain Dick Advocaat.

"Of course, I want to play for Serbia," Scepovic said. "Every player knows that it is a big thing when when you are in the national team.

"But now I'm concentrating only on Celtic's next game against Partick Thistle."