DORUS DE VRIES, Celtic's latest signing, has the self-belief he can be more than just back-up to Craig Gordon and instead become his new team's first-choice goalkeeper.

The Dutchman has been reunited with his former manager at Swansea City, Brendan Rodgers, after signing a two-year deal with the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership champions.

Now 35, the former Dunfermline man, who moved from Nottingham Forest, was expected to fulfill the role of No2 keeper with Gordon established as an automatic pick.

However, De Vries was adamant he has not made the move north with the intention of only sitting on the bench, and now plans to put the Scotland international under pressure after declaring he has the confidence required to play every week for the club.

De Vries said: "I've been told just to show what I have done in the past and compete, because the goalkeepers here are good in their own right. I need to earn this jersey. It's as simple as that. I need to train really hard then it is up to the manager's decision."

Asked if he felt he was better than the Hoops' current number one, he replied: "That's a tough question but you know what, you have to have self-belief, because there is a lot of responsibility when you stand between those sticks.

"Craig has it and so do I. It will be an interesting battle and it's something I'm looking forward to.

"I've played against Craig when I was with Dunfermline and he was at Hearts. I've got great respect for him in terms of what happened to him with his injuries. He fought to get fit and has done really well in the past years."

Rodgers tries to sign him for Liverpool but at the time Wolves refused to sell the player under any circumstances.

"That was a difficult period when the Liverpool move broke down," said De Vries. "When I received the call from the gaffer telling me he wanted to take me to Anfield, I was open to it.

"It's a lovely club and the chance to work with him again would have been great. But at the time Wolves were just stubborn. They were reluctant to sell me for a fair fee.

"Because of the relationship I had with the gaffer they asked a pretty high amount and the deal collapsed."

Celtic supporters may not know much about De Vries but Kenny Burns, the former Scotland player and Nottingham Forest icon, could not believe his old club allowed such a talented keeper to leave.

"Dorus is a good goalkeeper and he was a big player for us last season," said Burns. "You can't blame the lad for wanting to go to Celtic and having the chance to play in Europe. But the club saying a firm, 'no, he's unavailable', would have put an end to it.

"I doubt we'll have got a lot of money for him and he probably wasn't on big wages either, so why sell him? Why would you want to let your Player of the Season go? Why are we selling someone of his quality?"

De Vries is injured and so is unavailable for Wednesday's Champions League qualifier with Hapel Be'er Shova but he is keen to play his part on the European stage.

He said: "There is a lot to play for. When you are involved in a club like this it's great to be able to compete with the best in Europe.

"But my first goal is just to get fit. Hopefully I will be training on Thursday and take it from there.

"I'll watch Wednesday's game from the stands though and embrace the whole sensation of what it's all about."