Kelvin Wilson denies Davies fall-out after ending long wait to join Celtic

Yesterday, having finalised his move to Parkhead, the 25-year-old said he did not blame Forest manager Billy Davies for leaving him out of the team, but admitted it would have been preferable had he been allowed to move north at the start of the year.

"With any player when you've signed a pre-contract somewhere else your mind is set somewhere else, and your heart is with the other team and you're looking for their results," Wilson explained. "I tried to make that clear to Nottingham Forest.

"I'm a Nottingham boy, a Forest fan, and I want them to do well, but it was time for me to move on. I didn't go to Forest and ask them to let me leave: I left it to the two clubs, because I knew I was coming in the summer anyway.

"It would have been nice to have come here in January, of course, but things don't always go to plan. I'm here now and looking forward to it.

"I got on well with Billy all the way through. He signed me at Preston and then he got the job at Forest and there has never been a problem.

"I was never really communicating with him recently anyway, because I was injured. I was communicating through the physio, so he was cool about it. He never had a go at me; no argument. We got on well all the time and he wished me well when I signed the pre-contract.

"I just want to start playing and getting involved and get to know the lads. It's frustrating for any player when he's not playing.

"I knew I was coming to Celtic because I'd signed the pre-contract, and I was trying to keep myself fit, though not match fit. I was carrying a few niggling injuries and the team was doing really well.

"There was no point risking the niggling injuries because the team were doing well and I'd signed the pre-contract. For both parties it was right for me not to play."

That, at least, is the diplomatic answer. The reality is that, with injuries and loans depleting their resources at the back, Celtic could have done with the Englishman standing tall at the heart of their defence rather than sitting in the Parkhead stands to watch the occasional match. Having said that, his visits north at least provided reassurance that he had made the right decision.

The first trip came last autumn, some time before Wilson signed his pre-contract, but months after Celtic had first expressed an interest in recruiting him. "I watched the first Old Firm game last season from the stands," he said, referring to the league match in which Rangers won 3-1.

"I had a few days off and came up to watch the game.The punters didn't know me and I was sitting down in the bottom corner, at the side of the Rangers fans. It was my first visit to the stadium and my first visit to Scotland.

"I was blown away. The atmosphere was great and I thought I would love to play in front of it, and I'm here now."

From that point on, Wilson watched out for both teams' results every week. "I'd look at Celtic's results then Rangers' results thinking 'one point in it now'. I'd have loved to have been a part of it, but I'm here now and hopefully we can be successful next season."

While complimentary about Davies, Wilson is also grateful to another Scottish manager - Colin Calderwood, now at Hibs, who signed him for Forest from Preston. But his new boss at Parkhead, Neil Lennon, has arguably been a bigger influence on his career already, having played for Forest in the 2007-08 season, Wilson's first at the City Ground.

"I played with him and I've a lot of respect for him. He has done a lot in the game and made me feel wanted, because he has tried to get me in two previous transfer windows before finally getting me on the pre-contract.

"I'm delighted to play for him and I'm looking forward to it. He has a presence about him, but he's a nice man as well, a footballing man who knows his stuff because he has done so much in the game. I'm looking forward to working under him and his staff; learning, and helping the team to progress.".