Tomas Cvancara looking to find some success at Celtic after a turbulent start to his career… just don’t mention the fouls in the Scottish Premiership!

Despite the fact he is still only 25 years old, Tomas Cvancara has already experienced more than his fair share of ups and downs in football.

A colourful career started in his native Czech Republic, where he dotted around various clubs as well as being sent out on loan to Italian side Empoli.

It was with Sparta Prague where he eventually caught fire, scoring 24 goals in 49 appearances across two seasons.

His exploits with Sparta earned him a £9million move to Borussia Monchengladbach in the German Bundesliga, only for his form to cool off once again.

But it was towards the end of his time with Gladbach that things took a bizarre and sour turn, with Cvancara the subject of a dressing-room revolt.

He became an outcast as his team-mates wanted him exiled over claims that he had become a disruptive influence.

Farmed out on loan to Turkish side Antalyaspor at the start of this season, that move was cut short due to a dispute over wages.

Fair to say, it has been a turbulent couple of years. But Cvancara believes he can reignite his career with Celtic after joining the club on loan until the end of the season.

He has looked the part in his two appearances thus far. After making his debut against Hearts and laying on an assist, he followed that by scoring his first goal in the 2-0 win over Falkirk.

It was a terrific header, glancing home from a Kieran Tierney cross, and it demonstrated his goalscoring instincts.

It already looks like Cvancara will be the player whom Martin O’Neill will hang his hopes on in terms of firing Celtic to the league title.

He is certainly a major upgrade in the forward department and, given that Celtic hold an option to buy, it already looks like a deal which could be made permanent in the summer.

Cvancara believes he can reignite his career in Glasgow – and insists he will relish the pressure of being Celtic’s main man up front in the title race.

Asked about the prospect of getting his career back on track, he replied: ‘Yeah, I hope so.

After an eventful few years, Tomas Cvancara is hoping to settle down in Glasgow

‘It was a difficult time in Turkey. I already spoke about it. I don’t want to go back to it again.

‘I don’t want to say anything bad about Turkey, but as everybody knows, it just didn’t work at that time.

‘Everybody knows what happened there. It was a difficult time, not just football-wise, but also personally.

‘I’m just grateful that I get this opportunity to come here and to start enjoying football. Not just enjoy, but work and play for something.

‘We have things we want to achieve and stuff. So this is good for me and I feel that I need it again and this is what makes me happy.

‘I’ve already worked under pressure and, if I’m not ready, I wouldn’t have come to this club, which is huge. So I expected it [pressure] and I was ready for it.

‘For me, it was nothing new. I was just hoping that I could help the team, help the manager, help everyone who trusts me with good performances and hopefully with goals, assists and wins.

‘At a club like this, pressure is part of the job. You just have to handle it and keep going. Everybody has to prove themselves to play for Celtic. This is me also.’

When Cvancara signed just over a week ago, O’Neill was keen to try and play down the expectations on the new frontman.

But there is clearly an element of a talent being unfulfilled. If Celtic can get him back to the level he showed with Sparta Prague, he could yet be a serious asset.

He stands at 6ft 3ins and has a good physique, along with a good touch and deceptive turn of pace.

With Celtic strengthening their forward line on deadline day, O’Neill has clearly prioritised pace and power up front.

The victory over Falkirk on Sunday moved them back into second in the table, with a trip to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen next on the agenda on Wednesday night.

That O’Neill has managed to grind out a few results since returning in early January to keep the club in the title race, as well as securing progression in the Europa League, is an achievement in itself.

But it’s now a sprint to the finish over these next few months. Cvancara will be the man to spearhead the Celtic attack over that period.

‘It was great to get my first goal on Sunday,’ he reflected. ‘I hope it can be the first of many for this club.

Tomas Cvancara is mobbed by his new Celtic team-mates after his goal at the weekend

‘I would say that this is one of the best atmospheres in Europe. I would compare it, for example, to Borussia Dortmund. The stadium is massive, the same with this club. Yeah, it’s perfect.

‘It’s just a different type of league. It’s a lot of duels, so I think that I have adapted quite well in the two games so far.

‘I would say that maybe I just need a little bit of time to adapt to this type of duel, because it’s quite different if I compare it to the Bundesliga.

‘For example, what is a foul in the Bundesliga is not even a foul here. I just have to keep working on that and get used to it and I hope it will be better and better.

‘But I just have to keep going like this, and hopefully, I will get more and more minutes and just help the team.

‘I hope that if I keep scoring the goals and we will keep winning, that we will keep hunting them [Hearts] for the title.

‘The coach [O’Neill] is a big legend and I already said that this is a huge club, which is a very professional. We just need to keep going like this.’