RIGHT AT HOME

Deila insists Murrayfield will suit Celtic in Euro opener

RONNY DEILA last night embraced the prospect of playing KR Reykjavik at Murrayfield next month — by insisting it will still be a home match for Celtic.

The Norwegian’s first assignment as manager will be to negotiate a way past the 13-times Icelandic champions with the added complication of Celtic Park being out of commission due to the Commonwealth Games.

With the Scottish champions initially drawn at home on July 15/16, and the return leg in Iceland on July 22/23, both clubs were last night in talks over the possibility of switching the matches.

Assuming that happens, Celtic are likely to push for the Murrayfield return to be Tuesday, July 22 — to avoid any clash with the Games which begin at Celtic Park the following day.

But irrespective of when the game in Edinburgh takes place, Deila believes the temporary change of home will be an overwhelmingly positive

experience, saying: ‘Murrayfield will be something different ‘It’s a big stadium, the pitch is going to be good, and it will be different for our fans. ‘You have to look at it in a positive way. We can’t always look at things negatively. It is still our home game and we will have a lot of fans there. I think we will do well. ‘We just need to make our performance as good as possible. It’s very important that as many fans as possible come to the games to get a good home atmosphere. We have to just prepare with the circumstances we have and have good preparation.’ Deila, who takes his side to Austria this Sunday for a pre-season training camp encompassing four matches, added: ‘I will try to go to Murrayfield before we go to Austria to see how it is. They are going to change the pitch so it will be perfect. That’s the important thing — that everything on the pitch is as similar as Celtic Park as possible. ‘We want the tempo of the match to be high. I think it’s a rule in the Champions League that the dimensions of the pitch must be the same everywhere.’ Reykjavik are in the middle of their domestic season, three points off leaders Stjarnan after nine games. Deila plans to watch them in person if his schedule allows but believes a ‘dummy run’ friendly game at Murrayfield won’t be possible. ‘It could be better and it could be worse — I think it’s an OK draw,’ he added. ‘They are in the middle of their season. We will do everything we can with analysis and also there is a chance to watch them as well. ‘It’s not possible to play a game there (Murrayfield) beforehand but that’s OK.’ Deila welcomes the bulk of his squad back to Lennoxtown this morning for the start of pre-season training and believes that it is unlikely there will be any outfield additions to his squad before the European campaign begins. Negotiations to bring in former Hearts and Sunderland Craig Gordon are ongoing, however. Deila added: ‘That process is going on. It can happen but he’s been out for a long time and we have to make sure everything is right for both.’