THE brother of Carlton Cole believes the striker will go on to become a key player for Celtic this season. The former West Ham and England forward is yet to make his debut for Ronny Deila’s side after signing a two-year deal last month but was on the bench for the victory over Ross County two weeks ago and could now feature against Kilmarnock on Saturday.

His lack of action has prompted some Celtic fans to ponder why the club bothered to sign him but Ivan Cole, Carlton’s 18 year-old brother who has signed a deal with League 2 side Stirling Albion, insists it will all be worth the wait.

Ivan told Times Sport: “The Celtic fans will know what he’s capable of as he’s come from the highest level. They know what he’s about. He will do well for Celtic, I’m sure of it. Once he gets going I know he’s going to be a big success because he’s hungry and he’s determined to do well. When he gets in the team he’ll start scoring and the Celtic fans will see the best of him then. I wasn’t surprised when Carlton came to Scotland. He loves football and he just wanted to come to the right place for him to keep playing.

“I’ve learned a lot from him throughout my life. He’s taught me a lot about being a striker and he still does. I’m grateful for that. I went to watch my brother play for Chelsea and West Ham when I was growing up and that helped me a lot in my own career. I would always watch and examine what he was doing in a game. My uncle used to take me to the matches. He used to point out all the things Carlton was doing in a game and made sure I was watching and learning.”

Although Ivan has followed his brother up to Scotland, he now wants to forge his own name. He added: “When I’m in London I live under the shadow of Carlton Cole. I’m kind of tired of that now as I’m getting older and want to grow my own name. I don’t want people to think “that’s Carlton Cole’s little brother” as I’ve had that all my life. He’s my brother and I love him but I want to do my own thing.

“I want to one day do better than my brother. That will come down to me and how hard I work. But I believe in myself. This is my first professional contract so it’s all ahead of me. I’m really proud of Carlton. He’s done a lot for me and my family. But he’s built his name and now it’s time for me to build mine too.

“I’ve been in Scotland for a month or so now and I’ve enjoyed it. I went around a few clubs in the Premiership and Championship but didn’t get a contract so I’ve come down to League 2 and Stirling Albion and hopefully I can work my way from there, hopefully by helping them to promotion in the first instance.”