Iceland manager Mixu Paatelainen has every faith his countryman Teemu Pukki will come good at Celtic.
Teemu Pukki arrived at Celtic tipped as the man to fill Gary Hooper’s shooting boots.
But his international manager Mixu Paatelainen believes the Finnish frontman will eventually prove why Neil Lennon signed him for the Parkhead club.
Pukki hit the ground running by netting on his debut away to Hearts before scoring on his home debut against St Johnstone, but he hasn’t found the back of the net since.
The 23-year-old former Schalke man is likely to be warming the bench when Celtic take on AC Milan in their make-or-break Champions League group clash on Tuesday night after failing to hold down a regular starting slot.
Paatelainen, however, is convinced Pukki will go on to more than prove his worth.
“It takes time,” said the ex-Hibs and Kilmarnock boss. “You need to adapt to your new surroundings sometimes and maybe that is the case with Teemu.
“Believe me, he is a fantastic footballer. He will become a very good player for Celtic and will be successful there I’m sure of that. He will score goals and become popular with the fans.
“But you have to take everything into consideration. He’s a young player and this is his first experience of British football. It is completely different from playing on the continent.
“The pace of the game in Scotland is particularly fast, physically it is far more demanding and not only do you have to get used to your new team-mates but they need to get used to you.
“Teemu has only been in Scotland for a couple of months and in that time there has been a couple of international gatherings as well so it has been a bit stop-start for him.
“However, once he adapts to his new surroundings everyone will discover just how good a player he really is.”
Paatelainen started Pukki in the recent 1-1 draw with Wales and was impressed with the striker’s performance.
He said: “Teemu started for us against Wales and played very well but we were making a lot of changes and he came off in the second-half after an hour or so.
“I had a chat with him and he’s enjoying himself at Celtic. He’s a sensible lad and understands it will take him a bit of time to get to the level he would like.
“From what I hear, Neil Lennon is saying all the right things and has handled Teemu well.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he begins to start more matches and scores a lot more goals in the coming weeks and months.”
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