Ronny Deila believes that Celtic fans should reserve judgement on Nadir Ciftci until the striker gets a regular run of games in the Hoops first-team.

The 23-year-old will return to the domestic fold following the international break after serving his six-game suspension, a disciplinary measure that was handed out after he was found guilty of biting Jim McAlister in last season’s Dundee derby.

Ciftci will be available when Celtic head to Pittodrie in their next SPFL fixture and Deila believes that it is only after the Turkish forward has been allowed a run of games that judgement should be passed on him.

“He will be available for us when everyone is back,” said Deila.

“He needs games. He has trained well but he needs to play. With every player it takes time to adapt to what we are doing and they need to get on the pitch.

“We know his qualities and we believe that he can make us better. I still think that. It is too early for people to say that he is not good enough – he needs time to settle here and get used to the way we play.

“Over the next few weeks we will get to see the true picture.”

Celtic failed to land an additional striker when the summer transfer window closed this week, leaving the Parkhead side light on forward options given that Stefan Scepovic has left for Getafe on a season long-loan deal.

Leigh Griffiths has netted 8 goals in all competitions so far this season, but Ciftci, who signed for £1.5m from Dundee United in July, has yet to find the net for the Parkhead side.

Ciftci netted 14 goals for Dundee United last term and Deila would love to see him get off the mark in Pittodrie next weekend when Celtic take on Derek McInnes’ side.

And once he gets that elusive first goal, Deila expects there will be ample more to follow.

“We would love to see him get him get that goal against Aberdeen,” said the Celtic manager. “With a striker you do want them to get the first one and get it out of the way because the pressure does build around them.

“But he has a long contract here and we are very confident that he is a player who will do good things for us.

“Once he gets that first one he will go on to get more and relax a little bit.

“There are a lot of expectations on him but we are confident that he has a big part to play in the team over the coming seasons. He can be an important player for us.”