Andreas Hinkel is a mystery. He joined Celtic from Sevilla as a lapsed German internationalist and has regained his status despite a stuttering start to his new career in Scotland.

Yesterday, he spoke calmly and diplomatically of his role as the second pick in Gordon Strachan's right-back rota system with Mark Wilson. It left the impression that Hinkel may actually be too placid for the unforgiving environs he was enchanted by despite the efforts of Borussia Dortmund and VfB Wolfsburg to bring him home from his Spanish experience.

Hinkel is one of a new breed of football cosmopolitans. He spoke as warmly of the "cultural experience" and "history" of Glasgow as he did the winning traditions of his employers. It is impossible not to warm to this affable character. A sizeable and audible chunk of the Celtic fans, though, remain unconvinced by his contribution since joining the club last January.

Hinkel listened intently to a series of polite questions aimed at his sporadic appearances and occasional spurts of form and responded with clarity and courtesy.

"Every player wants to play regularly, but sometimes, at such a big club, you need to rotate because of the number of games in the league and the cup," he said. "The manager explained this to me at the beginning of the season.

"It is too much to ask one player to play in every game. That is why successful teams have a squad of 22 or 24 players. It is the manager's decision who plays when. It is something you just have to handle if you are a good professional."

Being a "good professional" has become a Strachan mantra in his 3 years at Celtic.

The manager sent his players off on the recent international break with individual reminders of their responsibilities and job descriptions. Hinkel was encouraged to live up to his handsome reputation, but Strachan dismissed the suspicion that the German might be too good-natured and level-headed to thrive amid the chaos of Old Firm life.

"He has been stop-start with injuries," said the manager in mitigation.

"I think when he came into the frantic Scottish league he was thrown in and thought what happened there'? He is a smashing player with a good attitude.

"He is level-headed, but sometimes it is nice to stay focused when you are at a club like this. It does not help if you have emotional defenders. It's nice to stay above the madness that goes on in this country."

None the less, Hinkel's pedigree has been unable to guarantee him a place ahead of the more dependable and defensively diligent Wilson in the Champions League. His surprise return to the international arena has given him extra motivation to establish himself and enabled him to assess the full extent of his latest challenge.

"You know you have to adapt from Spanish football to Scottish football," he said, "but when I went back to play for Germany after 2 years, I had to compare again.

"I have had some injuries, but it can be a mental thing as well as a physical one."

Hinkel was criticised by Michael Zorc, Dortmund's director of football, for spurning a return to the Bundesliga in favour of a more lucrative contract at Celtic. The full-back has no regrets and believes his experience of Scottish football has been rewarded beyond monetary terms.

"When I went to Spain, I had so many good experiences that I wanted to continue playing in a foreign country," he said. "I wanted a new football experience, of course, but also a new cultural experience: I want to know about the history of my new city. I have learned many things already.

"Also, I left Germany as a non-international player after missing out in the squad for the World Cup in 2006.

I have since become a national player again, so that has been an important development."