Kolo Toure has insisted that he is still fighting for his place at Celtic – despite also looking to learn the coaching side of things from one of the “best managers in the world.”

The 35-year-old Ivorian was a mainstay in the opening months of the season as Celtic navigated their way through the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, but he has since slipped out of the fray with Jozo Simunovic and Erik Sviatchenko holding court for the last few months while Dedryck Boyata has also re-emerged to prominence.

Toure is moving into the coaching side of things with Brendan Rodgers looking to utilise the vast experience of the former Arsenal defender in a player-coaching role but the defender has maintained that he is still on the hunt for game time.

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“I am still fight for a place,” Toure told the Celtic View. “I still feel very good and for me to keep playing is very important.

“In my mind I am still a player, mentally, but, of course, I have the opportunity to learn from who is, for me, one of the best managers in the world.

“Brendan Rodgers is a great manager and a great guy to learn from. “

Transferring from playing to coaching isn’t a new ambition for Toure.

the player has revealed that the long-term plan was always to venture into the dug-out with his natural leadership qualities standing out even in his younger years.

“Since I started my career, at any club I’ve been at, the managers have all said ‘Kolo, you are going to be a manager one day!’.

“When I go home I only watch football channels. I have about 200 channels but I only watch games every day. When I wake up, first thing I want to know is what game is going to be on.

“I have my ‘B’ licence and I’m looking forward to doing my ‘A’ license. I started the ‘B’ licence when I was at Liverpool. My thinking right now is to keep learning as a coach, but, of course, I still want to play.”

Read more: Dedryck Boyata hitting the right notes as he looks to keep his place in Celtic defence

Toure’s name repeatedly comes the fore in interviews with the younger Celtic players who cite his influential as particularly helpful on the ground.

And the mentoring role is one which Toure takes great pride in.

“When I was younger I had Martin Keown at Arsenal and I took his place, but he was the one who was always supporting me,” said Toure. “He was the one who pushed me and guided me.

“So I am just doing what I learned from these guys and that’s normal for me to help young players coming through. I want to help them try to adapt and make things easy for them.

“They are the future so we have to help them. It is not about my personality, it’s about the club and the club have to have people that can make things better for players coming in.”