Jos Hooiveld will not look to win friends

JOS HOOIVELD is ready to unleash his "nasty" streak on SPL strikers after signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with Celtic.

The 26-year-old Dutchman has joined from Sweden's AIK Solna for a fee reportedly in the region of 2 million.

The defender said: "Outside the field, I'm a perfectly nice guy but on the field I can be a bit nasty – in a good way, I think, a fair way. I demand from myself the best possible, but even from the people around me that I work with."

Hooiveld has finally won his dream move to Scotland, five years after almost being signed by Livingston. It was in January 2005 that the defender was ready to turn out in amber after being spotted by Livingston manager Richard Gough. However, his dreams were shattered when bad weather saw two bounce games against Kilmarnock and St Mirren called off when blizzards hit Scotland.

Gough brought him back again for game time against St Johnstone but he was not signed. However, after spells in Austria and Finland he won the double this year in Sweden with AIK Solna.

Celtic must also consider whether to make a fresh bid for Preston defender Sean St Ledger after seeing an approach rejected by the Coca-Cola Championship club last week.

Hooiveld and St Ledger would fill the void left by Gary Caldwell's impending departure to Middlesbrough. The Hoops have also agreed a fee with Middlesbrough for the sale of midfielder Barry Robson with Willo Flood and Chris Killen going to Teesside on loan.