Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara last night spoke of his delight at having Nadir Ciftci cleared to face Celtic - then told the talented Turk he has to start keeping the head from now on.
Ciftci is gearing up to take on the Hoops in Sunday's Scottish Cup quarter-final clash at Tannadice after winning his appeal against a two-match ban for allegedly using violent conduct against Garry Warren in last Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Inverness following Thursday's successful SFA disciplinary hearing at Hampden.
The 23-year-old Turkish striker has been a big hit since signing for the Tangerines but has previously found himself in bother with the authorities when he was hit with a two-math ban in the wake of a powderkeg League Cup quarter-final tie with Inverness back in 2013, when he was sent-off amid claims he'd used excessive force to grab assistant linesman Gavin Harris by the throat.
Ciftci, whose case was not proven, has the potential to go right to the top although his manager feels the former NAC Breda ace must learn to stay cool at times ahead of this weekend's sell-out Tannadice tie.
McNamara said: "I am glad it was the right verdict and that he is OK to play.
"It was the right decision.
"I'm not surprised because it was the right decision, it's more a surprise because of what has happened previously.
"He has been involved in the build-up but there was uncertainty.
"So it's good that it's clear now and he can play.
"I think he has had a hard time of it, to be honest.
"I think it stems from the Caley game, the League Cup quarter-final up there.
"He got wrongly sent-off and then there was a second charge which he was cleared of and that became a third charge which had been changed a few times.
"He got a two-game ban on the back of that.
"The actual thing he got sent off wasn't a red-card and there had been a lot of fall-out from that but he has to learn to do things better as well.
"He needs to control his aggression at times.
"He does feel hard done to and the thing about Nadir is that he is a big, strong lad so if he takes a bit and gives a bit back it looks like retaliation at times.
"But that is part of his learning and he is still a young lad, having only just turned 23.
"He has to learn and use his fight and passion the right way."
Ciftci's availability is a huge boost for United as the fans' favourite has been looking at missing all three matches with Celtic this month - including next weekend's League Cup Final - had the two-match ban from the SFA stood.
And McNamara, who watched him hit the target in December's 2-1 league win over the Hoops on Tayside, said: "He is happy because that could have been him out for the whole month of March.
"As a club, we want our best players to be playing and to me Nadir, on his day, is one of the best and most talented players in Scotland. He has everything.
"There are things that are possibly lacking in his game that we are trying to get in there but maybe that is why he is in Scotland in the first place and it's up to me as his manager to try to get those things out of his game and get him focused on what he is good at.
"The last time we played Celtic, he was influential in our winning that game.
"He scored one goal and then set Stuart (Armstrong) up for the other one so he is a big player for us.
"And, on his day, there aren't many better than him in the whole of the country.
"He has strength, pace and can play with both feet. At times he has been frustrating - and been frustrated - by perhaps overdoing things.
"But when he is on it he is a real asset for United."
United will face a Celtic side still reeling from their shock midweek defeat at home to St Johhnstone, with McNamara fully aware that it will take just as big an effort from his own players to inflict another defeat on Ronny Deila's men.
He said: "I thought St Johnstone were excellent and deserved to win.
"They also scored a fantastic goal.
"From a team point of view, it was interesting to hear Tommy (Wright) say after the game that their best performance was not that one but the one against us the other week.
"Against Celtic, to a man they were excellent and it think it will take something similar from ourselves to get to the next round on Sunday.
"I think they had been on a similar run before we played them here on December 21 (10 straight wins for Hoops in domestic competition after losing 1-0 to Hamilton.
"They are a good side on their day and have big players who can win games.
"They are particularly dangerous from set-pieces as we saw against Aberdeen last weekend.
"They had one or two attempts against St Johnstone but I thought they (Saints) handled everything well and worked hard as a team, with a lot of togetherness. That is something we would like to do on Sunday."
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