STEFAN SCEPOVIC has invited Celtic fans sceptical about the route he took to Paradise to judge him on what he does on the pitch - not what has happened to get him there.

The Serbian striker insists he never said he did not want to join the Hoops, even though it looked as though he had done a U-turn on the deal he had accepted and was on his way to Getafe just 24 hours before the window closed. Scepovic could not control the circus which sprung up around his £2.3million transfer from Sporting Gijon. But he can control what he does when he finally pulls on the Hoops.

And, having been put into cold storage by Gijon in recent weeks, the Serb can't wait to get going, targeting the game against Aberdeen at Parkhead a week on Saturday.

Scepovic aims to silence any doubters, and knows scoring goals is the best way to achieve this. He said: "It's easy to speak about what you will do - but the important thing is to go on to the pitch and prove it.

"I didn't play a lot of games in pre-season because Sporting Gijon didn't want to take any risks with my fitness.

"But I feel in good shape and ready to play.

"I don't like to talk about myself. It is for other people to judge me, and on the field I need to prove everything."

Still hoping to join Scepovic, and the other five players recruited by Ronny Deila in this window, is John Guidetti, whose loan move from Manchester City failed to beat Monday's deadline.

However, the SFA and SPFL have confirmed the process was well under way before the cut-off point, and have united to request Fifa allow the transfer to go through.

Even if this extension is approved, it appears too late to have Guidetti included in the squad for the Europa League group stage as it had to be submitted to Uefa by 11pm last night.

However, Celtic still plan to go ahead with the Swedish striker's signing, even if he is only available for domestic games until February.

Guidetti is still hopeful he will get the nod to join the Hoops, and on arrival in Sweden on Under-21 duty last night, he said: "It was chaos on Monday. I don't think I ate all day. It was just wait, wait, wait.

"Hundreds of fans stood outside the stadium and waited in the middle of the night.

"I hope that it sorts itself out with Celtic, otherwise I'll have to stay at City - and that's not the worst thing that could happen."

If he gets his wish, it will put even more onus on Scepovic to deliver on the European stage. But that doesn't unnerve him.

At 24, he believes he is about to enter the best phase of a career which has seen him play for 10 clubs already.

Scepovic is confident he can use all the experience gained in Italy, Belgium, Israel and Spain to make him a success here and said: "I've had many clubs, but I have learned a lot.

"Maybe I took a long road to get here, but the important thing is I'm here now.

"I like to train and to work hard, and my movement on the pitch is one of the main strengths of my game."

That's what has won him eight caps for Serbia, though his delayed start to this season cost him his place in the squad for their friendly match against France on Friday.

Scepovic is confident the bigger stage will enhance his chances of becoming a regular in the national team, and said: "We have important qualification games for Euro 2016 coming up, and I hope playing for Celtic will give me a better chance of being involved."

But it is making an impact in the Celtic side which is the main focus for Scepovic - whose father, Sladan, famously scored the goal which took Partizan Belgrade through against Celtic when they met in the European Cup-Winners' Cup in 1989.

He has the distinction of being the only player bought by any club in Scotland in the transfer window, and acknowledges he could have taken an easier option with significantly less pressure attached to it if he had stayed in Spain.

But, he feels ready to test himself and said: "This was the first choice for me from the first moment I knew there was a chance to come here.

"It's a great opportunity to improve myself."