HE had barely laced up his boots than the Celtic support had coined their own song for him.

But to be fair to Carlton Cole, he has been slightly embarrassed at the attention he has received for what has not amounted to anything more than a quizzical cameo role so far in his time south of the border.

The Englishman has started just once – against Stranraer last month – and has been a bit-part player on the sidelines with Ronny Deila’s side.

The arrival of Colin Kazim-Richards who looks capable of establishing a decent partnership with Leigh Griffiths suggests that further chances will be scarce. The striker missed the weekend win over East Kilbride at Airdrie because he isn’t suited to playing on an artificial surface, but he remains determined that he can make his mark with the club this season.

The 32-year-old, capped seven times for England, signed a deal to keep him at the club until the end of next season and he is adamant that he is keen to stake a claim for a place.

“I didn’t come up here just to take a wage,” he said. “I was unfit when I came in, I will say that, but I have worked hard, I feel as though I am getting there in terms of my fitness and I want to play. That is what I came for.

“I knew it would be a fight to get into the team. You’ve got Leigh [Griffiths] playing out of his skin and scoring goals every week but I want to be in there. All I can do is get my head down and show what I have got.”

At one stage of his career, Cole was held up as the next big prospect for his country. It never materialised like that but there was a gracefulness about the striker, an ease in his movements and agility during his Premiership days that has not really been glimpsed in his time with Celtic.

At 32 he is past his peak, but there should still be time for him to engineer a return to the kind of form of which he is capable.

So far his performances for Celtic have been heavy-legged and laborious – which the player himself was quick to recognise – but having signed up to Ronny Deila’s dietary regime at the club he believes he will shed a bit more weight to peel away the layer of talent he insists can be beneficial to the Parkhead side.

“You have to remember that when I first came up here I hadn’t played football for a long time and it takes time to get back to that level of fitness,” he said.

“But I am working hard, I have lost a few pounds and I am full of belief that I can get to the level that I was at when I was playing Premiership football. I believe I still have that in me. And I am striving every day to reach that level.”

The striker has also maintained that his hunger stems from wanting further honours in his career.

Celtic have lost out on the Treble but remain in the hunt for a League and Scottish Cup double, something that Cole would like to play a decent part in.

“For every player it is important to experience success and win things,” he said. “I know that my career won’t last forever and I would like to have the chance to look back and reflect on the things that I have won when I get to the end of it.

“Celtic are a massive club. The fan-base here is amazing, the size of the club is huge and to be able to play even a small part in the history of it is a privilege.

“I always knew when I came up that there would be competition for places and that I would need to fight to get into the team but I have always been prepared to do that. I have had to be patient because I really wasn’t ready for game time but I am getting there.

“If I can play a part in the last four months of the season then I will be delighted but I do think I am capable of going out and bringing something to the team now.

“We all want the same thing – to be lifting silverware at the end of the season. I want to play a part in that. It is why I came to Celtic in the first place.”