Rosenborg will not take advantage of Deila dossier
ROSENBORG boss Kare Ingebrigtsen last night joked he could not trust information on Champions League opponents Celtic supplied by Ronny Deila because the former Parkhead manager’s heart remains in Glasgow.
Deila vowed to pass on information on the Norwegian league leaders to Brendan Rodgers, his successor in the hotseat at the Scottish champions.
He also warned he was willing to ‘work both tickets’ by supplying a dossier to Rosenborg on his former club.
However, a suspicious Ingebrigtsen opted to do most of his own homework on Celtic as he aims to cause a Champions League upset this evening.
‘I spoke to Ronny Deila about Celtic but I can’t tell you what he said,’ smiled the Rosenborg boss.
‘He didn’t give me too much information. But I think he is more of a fan of Celtic than of Rosenborg, so I don’t trust what he said to me.
‘We spoke more about what we can expect at Celtic Park. The rest of it, he just told me to do my job.’
Ingebrigtsen hopes that the fact the Premiership season is yet to kick-off will be an advantage to his Norwegian underdogs.
‘It’s good for us that Celtic’s season hasn’t started in Scotland yet,’ he said.
‘We have played 17 games in Norway already and, hopefully, we are at our best tomorrow night.
‘Can that be a crucial factor? Well, history shows for Rosenborg that it is an advantage to be halfway through the season when we play in Europe.
‘All the opponents we meet — except Dundalk in the last round, who are also in mid-season — tend to struggle against us, because it’s early in the season for them. So hopefully Celtic are not at their sharpest. ‘Which side is favourite to go through? No question, it has to be Celtic. They are used to being favourites, but we are also used to being favourites in Norway. ‘But I do think the pressure is on Celtic. It will be hard for them if they lose and are not assured of European football this season. ‘Everyone in Scotland thinks Celtic should beat us and beat us easily. They are a Champions League team and they did well in the competition last season, drawing twice with Manchester City. But we will try to give them a tough game.’ Rosenborg required extra time to see off Irish champions Dundalk in the last round. Facing a step-up in quality, Ingebrigtsen admits he hopes injury doubt Moussa Dembele joins the suspended Leigh Griffiths in missing out tonight. He said: ‘Dembele and Griffiths are great players. They both scored over 20 goals for Celtic last season and they will miss them if both don’t play. Hopefully they don’t play! But I looked at the Celtic squad and they have 40 or 50 players. ‘We know that coming here to Celtic Park will be very difficult. And if we play like we did for 20 to 30 minutes away to Dundalk, it could soon be all over. ‘We need to defend well, keep the ball well but also we need to attack. An away goal is very important for us. We are here to score goals.’ Skipper Mike Jensen, meanwhile, admitted that bravery will be a key component amid an expected Celtic onslaught. But he warned that if the Scottish champions let their standards slip, the Norwegians would be more than capable of taking advantage. ‘It’s a big challenge for us and courage is the key word,’ he said. ‘Celtic will come out with a lot of energy and we need to handle that. They are maybe the best team we have played for a long time. But we have to focus on ourselves. ‘We will have chances and I hope we have the courage to take them. We will have a go.’