Ledley looking forward to taking young dragon under his wing at Celtic

ADAM MATTHEWS will arrive in Glasgow in the summer and discover that his route has already been paved. After all Joe Ledley says he knows what the Welsh starlet will be going through when he ups sticks for a city and a massive challenge and he is determined to make the transition as painless as possible so that Celtic's latest addition can concentrate on impressing on the pitch.

"I was with him all last season and he is a great young player who has come through the ranks at Cardiff. There were loads of teams interested in him, Arsenal, Man United and teams like that so he has a great future ahead of him and I think he has made a good move here. I think Celtic can develop him and make him even better and hopefully he can get a place in the team.

"He has good pace and he has a great right foot and he can play football. Mark Wilson is doing great for us at the moment but it will be good to have them battling it out. Adam is still young but he has a big future. He is great on the ball and he has good pace. He could probably move up to right wing as well. With the deliveries he's got with his right foot he could do a job."

A fan of the Welsh Under-21 star, full international Ledley is wary of expecting too much of the kid too soon, though.

"I will try to help him on the pitch and off it as well. It is going to be difficult for him, this is his first ever move and I know what that is like and I'm sure I can help him out. It will be difficult for him because he will be away from his family for the first time but I will meet up with him and he can come over to my house and stuff like that and it will be a pleasure to look after him."

Older than Matthews when he left Wales, Ledley still required a bedding in period. It has taken time for him to fit in with the gameplan set out for him on his arrival, with assistant manager Johan Mjallby saying that the management team always believed the midfielder would be able to weigh in with the goals he is finally netting. Three in just two games ahead of the international break, the player says he is now hoping to contribute more before the season reaches it conclusion. With big games coming thick and fast, the next at home to Hibs on Wednesday, every goal counts and now he is settled in, they are finally coming for Ledley.

"It takes a while. This was my first move and when you are moving house and not seeing your family and I had a little one as well so it was all quite hectic but I have settled in well now, with the team on and off the pitch, and the boys have been brilliant to me and they will be exactly the same with Adam. There is great team bonding here as well."

Venturing forward more often, he says he is finally reaping the reward of getting into the right positions, confident that the players around him can plug any gap he leaves in his wake. "I have been unlucky before that. I have had chances but I haven't put them in the net but hopefully the luck has turned now and I have some goals and hopefully I can continue like that. But as long as I'm performing well, that's the main thing. I wasn't worried, I have been trying.

"I have been getting into the right places but getting the ball in the net is the hardest part. But so long as I was getting in the box and trying to create things and then I knew the goals would come."

Exponents of that art include the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard and the Welshman is a fan of both. "Those two have proved what they can do through their careers. They are great midfielders who score ten a season, guaranteed, or even more. They are two quality players and that's why they are at Liverpool and Chelsea. It's always nice to have double figures but I have played a bit at left back and things like that.

"Obviously, there isn't a lot of time to go but it would be nice. Hopefully I can give a good little push now and keep going the way I am now."

moira gordon