Fox thrilled by Celtic chase

On Thursday morning Daniel Fox was limbering up for a campaign in England's second tier. The following evening he was playing for Celtic FC at Wembley Stadium and could make his UEFA Champions League bow on Wednesday night.

Whirlwind deal
The 23-year-old left-back joined Celtic from Coventry City FC for a reported €1.7m on Friday in a whirlwind deal completed in time for him to be added to the Scottish side's squad for the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round first leg at home to FC Dinamo Moskva. He has, however, already appeared for Celtic having signed on Friday morning and flown to London, where he came off the bench in their 5-0 defeat of African champions Al-Ahly in the inaugural Wembley Cup before playing the first 45 minutes of Sunday's 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur FC that ensured the Bhoys lifted the trophy ahead of FC Barcelona. His new manager Tony Mowbray said: "He's got a wand of a left foot that can put the ball on a sixpence from anywhere."

'Just surreal'
Fox himself was just catching his breath. "It is a dream," the former England Under-21 international said. "I can't get my head round it. To make my debut at Wembley as well, it's just surreal." That was despite a hitch at the airport. "I couldn't find my bag! So I nearly missed the game as it had my boots in and stuff like that but thankfully I got there on time, signed my contract and went straight to Wembley, to the game."

Ambition
Mowbray kept a space in the initial squad submitted to UEFA in order to add a name before the third qualifying round deadline on Tuesday morning, but Fox is not taking selection, and a home debut, against Dinamo for granted. "I'm just concentrating on getting into the team," he said. "If that is the case I have to take the opportunity with both hands. Lee Naylor is a top-quality left-back, and I'm just going to try to get in the team and hopefully stay there."

Turning point
Celtic are not Fox's first Scottish club, as the then Everton FC trainee was loaned to Stranraer FC in January 2005 and helped them win promotion to Scotland's second tier. Fox was released by Everton, going to play for Walsall FC before joining Coventry 18 months ago, but believes his time at Stranraer transformed his career. "It made me appreciate being a professional footballer," he said. "It gave me the kick up the backside I needed to be honest.

Experience
"I have always set my standards high and I'm grateful to Stranraer for giving me that experience. I was at Everton, everything got done for me, it was a comfortable place. Then I was released by Everton, Stranraer gave me the extra lease of life I needed." And now? "I'm trying to get my head around the fact I've signed for one of the biggest clubs in the world."