Deila needs Bhoys at peak to break Molde
RONNY DEILA insists there are few players at Molde who would get a game for Celtic yet concedes his fellow Norwegians are currently a superior team. The Parkhead boss admits his compatriot Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has inherited a group of players who, collectively, form a unit that is significantly more powerful than the sum of its parts.
Although Solskjaer’s recent appointment reflected Molde’s disappointing domestic form, in the Europa League they have been terrific, deservedly topping Group A at the midway stage of the section.
A surprise win away to Fenerbahce on the opening night was the springboard and, most recently, they dismantled Celtic with a clinical counter-attacking win in Norway.
Thursday’s return fixture gives Celtic the chance to make amends and Deila admits his men must play with more cohesion if they are to succeed in what he describes as a ‘must-win’ match.
‘We talk about names, but it is not about individuals,’ said Deila. ‘It is abouthowgoodistheteam.Moldehave shown so far they are the best team in the group. They’ve played all the teams and nobody has beaten them.
‘Right now they are the best team in the group, so it is going to be a tough game on Thursday. But I know we have the quality to beat them.
‘Individually, we have a better team. There are not many players from Molde who would come into the first XI here.
‘But, as a team, they have played together for many years and they know what they are doing. They are a good football side.
‘That’s the positive in Norwegian football. With their systems, they are thinking: “I know I’m not the greatest player but I know I have good skills and I will do everything to bring that to the team and my team-mates will get better”.’
One man who Deila hopes will make his own side better is Jozo Simunovic. After an impressive debut in the 2-2 draw away to Ajax on the opening night of the group stage, the Croatian succumbed to an ankle injury, missing four matches, including the subsequent games against Fenerbahce and Molde.
Although he hobbled out of yesterday’s 3-1 victory over Aberdeen, Deila last night attributed the problem to cramp and was hopeful he will be fit to take his place on Thursday.
A tall, powerful centre-half, Simunovic ought to make Celtic stronger at the set-pieces which have proven a weakness at home and abroad this season.
Bought from Dinamo Zagreb for a chunk of the transfer fee received from Southampton for Virgil van Dijk, Deila believes he can emulate the Dutchman and eventually earn a move to a richer stage.
‘It’s hard to say just how good Jozo can become but he’s started very well,’ said Deila. ‘We knew we were buying a good player but, again, he was not a regular player for Dinamo Zagreb.
‘He is a big talent but he needs time. We will give him the experience he lacks and the training and coaching that he needs to get up to that level.
‘His potential is huge. He looks strong and he is young, which makes it easier for him.
‘He has awareness on the pitch and also leadership — you can see that he controls the line.
‘He’s comfortable on the ball and he is quick, mobile, powerful and he jumps high. He needs to build relationships but he is a talented footballer. ‘What Virgil achieved was tough, he worked hard for it. Jozo came here because he wants to go down that route of developing into a top international player. So far, outside of injury, he has been working very well.’
While Deila is encouraged by Simunovic’s contribution since his return in last weekend’s 5-0 win over Dundee United, midfielder Nir Bitton insists Celtic’s struggle to keep clean sheets in Europe should not be blamed exclusively on the defence.
‘We lost in Molde because we conceded goals that we shouldn’t, either from the counter-attack or at set-pieces,’ said Bitton. ‘But that’s not only about the defence or midfield. Defending starts from the attack.
‘If somebody is lazy in the front three attackers, it’s much easier to exploit us.’
Goalscorer Kris Commons stole the headlines with his dugout outburst at Deila’s assistant John Collins following his substitution in Molde. Yet, for all his creativity and ability to plunder a goal, defending from the front has never been the former Scotland man’s forte.
Deila resists the blame game and also insists he paid no mind to his own standing in Norway after an ego-bruising return home.
‘I had many more important things to worry about than what they thought about me in Norway,’ he stated. ‘It was a bad performance. We started quite well and then conceded two cheap goals.
‘That made it a perfect situation for them because we then had to go at them and try to create something and they could just sit and counterattack all the time.
‘We have to do better on Thursday. We need to be at the level we were at in the first two games against Ajax away and Fenerbahce at home.
‘It is a must-win game. That is how I will look at it. Maybe it won’t be, but I want to think of it that way. We have not lost at home for a long, long time and that is a positive thing.
‘Ninety per cent of the results Celtic have had in Europe over the history have been about home games. That is because of the stadium and the crowd. That is where we have to do it.’