Dubliner Willo Flood is determined to make the most of his big chance at Celtic after joining his boyhood idols from Cardiff City last weekend. Flood caught manager Gordon Strachan's eye during his loan spell at Dundee United and signed a 2 1/2 year contract after Celtic agreed a small fee with his Cardiff employers. "This is an exciting challenge and one which I am really looking forward to," said Flood. "I have been a fan of Celtic all my life and this truly is a dream come true to sign for the club. "I will be joining a great group of players and I will be giving everything I can to make as big a contribution as possible to Celtic Football Club. I hope to play my part in achieving more and more success for the club and its supporters." The 23-year-old Flood added, "Gordon called me in when I got here for training and said that he likes my drive, my enthusiasm and my ability so it's up to me to kick on from there. "I think I can learn from Gordon Strachan, Neil Lennon and Garry Pendrey and the lads here as well. I can learn from every player at the club because the standard of player here is frightening." A former Manchester City trainee, Flood is looking to break into Celtic's League team before thinking about Champions League or international recognition. "That's a long way away," he added. "I just think I need to establish myself in the team first and work hard in training, and hopefully I can play in the Championship League next season. "It's in the back of my mind but I just want to catch the manager's eye and get into the team before the end of the season." Celtic failed in a late bid to sign Hibernian striker Steven Fletcher on deadline day after Strachan was frustrated by a scoreless draw at Inverness on Sunday. "I'll never criticize individuals but we had four or five players that were not up to scratch," said Strachan after Thistle marked Terry Butcher's first game as manager with a valuable point. "Inverness worked very hard as we expected and it wasn't different from what we usually get when we come here. "But without being disrespectful to Inverness, we are the team that is supposed to have the better players but we weren't good enough on the day. Our ability wasn't good enough to beat enthusiasm and determination. That's disappointing." Motherwell have signed Celtic's young Irish striker Cillian Sheridan on loan until the end of the season.