HEAT’S ON YOU

Deila tries to put pressure on the Ibrox underdogs

RONNY Deila last night tried to shift the burden of Old Firm expectation on to Rangers — by insisting that the second richest team in the country should be pushing his Celtic side all the way.

and the Parkhead boss believes that Mark Warburton’s Championship title winners will be under pressure to prove themselves the equal of top-flight challengers such as aberdeen and Hearts.

Deila, aware that his side are odds-on favourites to win their Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden tomorrow, argues that Rangers — who he called the ‘second biggest’ club in Scotland — can’t be treated just like any other lower-league side.

‘everybody wants to play us up as big, big favourites but the truth is that they are top of the league,’ said Deila.

‘They won their league. They have the second highest budget in the country. So it’s not like we are playing a small team, you know. We are playing the second biggest. You should expect

to be on a level with Aberdeen, Hearts and these clubs. They can be that good. ‘This is going to be their test to show that they are that.’ Deila, who revealed that key central defender Erik Sviatchenko is still battling to be fit in time for the lunchtime kick-off at the national stadium, is under intense personal pressure to bag a second Old Firm victory to go with last season’s League Cup semi-final stroll in the park. Underlining the difference between now and then, though, he said: ‘It is easy to say that it looks like we are going to play Stromsgodset. That’s not right. ‘We are playing a big club here. They have the second highest budget. Now it is the time for them to show how good they are. ‘If you look at the money, they should be at Aberdeen’s level. ‘Next season? Of course we expect that. We have to be prepared for that. We know they are coming up and this is a good game to see.’