Sead Haksabanovic in veiled Celtic dig as a 'long time' without games means loanee is not totally happy at Stoke
The winger sealed a deadline day loan move to Stoke after leaving Celtic in somewhat acrimonious terms
Sead Haksabanovic admits he isn't fully happy yet at Stoke City because he hasn't played regular football "for a long time."
The Montenegrin sealed a deadline day loan move to the Bet365 stadium after he took to social media to vent his frustrations over a lack of chances at Celtic. Reports suggest the winger, who also ticked off his national boss Miodrag Radulovic by declaring he wouldn't be available for his country due to materialising his move to Stoke, is seeking a permanent exit from Brendan Rodgers' men. It appeared the 24-year-old could have made the move to PAOK on the final day of the window in a permanent move, but Stoke instead moved to sign him.
And he got off the mark with a goal against Bristol City for Alex Neil's men, who have been in shaky form, with the winger now looking to put his recent lack of games to bed. Before leaving on loan, he told Hoops fans on social media: "If they don’t see your value maybe you’re not at the right place.” In return, boss Rodgers admitted he was surprised at the post, but now Haksabanovic reckons his Stoke transition has been somewhat more arduous due to a lack of match practice.
He told Stoke City's club channel: "I'm happy with my goal [against Bristol City] and the win. Hopefully I can build on that as well, I've got some games in my legs now. That feels good.
"You have seen moments of me, I'm not one hundred per cent happy yet. I think I will never be, because I know I can be better every day, that's what I'm working for. It's always good to get games in the legs, it's been a long time since I've played that many games. Here, hopefully I can build on that in training and get better.
"You need to fix everything around first before you can perform on the pitch, with the players and staff I already feel like I'm in, even being here a couple of weeks. They're very helpful, I want to say thank you to them. They have made me feel welcome."