Attitude can be just as important as ability to Celtic’s Mr Motivator
RONNY DEILA arrived at Celtic with a reputation for developing players, for unlocking potential and steering lost souls back on to the right path.
His intentions sound almost charitable. But there is a hard edge to his methods. Deila’s patience is far from limitless. Anyone found slacking on his watch won’t last long.
The Norwegian gave an insight on his o wn approach to man-management as the Scottish champions continued t heir Austrian training camp.
He wants to engage with every individual in his squad by setting goals f or i mprovement, in technique, fitness and mentality. He wants them to aspire to the standard of consistent performances set by stalwarts Scott Brown, Kris Commons and Charlie Mulgrew.
There will be plentiful encouragement and cajolement, particularly for the more youthful elements, but ultimately the answers required must come from within.
Should some exhibit resistance to the education on offer and remain stuck in unsatisfactory ways, then they will eventually be cut loose.
‘Players have to take r esponsibility f or t heir own careers,’ insisted Deila. ‘It’s about learning. Everyone wants to be better but they have to understand how they are going to do it.
‘You can’t frighten people to do it. You can’t smash them in the head to do it. It would be easy if you could.
‘ You have t o get t hem to understand and that takes time. But there are things we did in Stromsgodset that were good. All the players talked to the staff. There were always conversations.
‘ We asked them good, open questions and they had to reflect on themselves to find the answers.
‘Every time you develop a player, it is satisfying. It’s the best thing for a manager. But sometimes the players who give you most problems are the guys who also give the opponents most problems.
‘Again, you can feel it if people want to do it. If they take small steps, then you can live with it.
‘But if you find a bad attitude and they really don’t want to do it, they don’t want to sacrifice what it takes, then you don’t have the time for it.’
Every training session currently undertaken at Celtic’s base outside Bad Leonfelden is being closely analysed.
‘If there are players doing the same thing every day, that kills my energy: when you go to training and you start from A every day,’ added Deila.
‘You tell them something, teach them and then they come in the next day and do the same things. If you do that every time then I have a problem and they have a problem.
‘I’ve said to the players that everyone makes mistakes. If they have a good attitude, do what is expected and make mistakes then we can kill those mistakes. But you have to learn.’
Clearly, Deila will be a highly demanding manager to work under. But in his three senior Scottish professionals, he sees examples for the others to follow.
Commons struck an incredible 32 goals last term. Brown has very much grown i nto the role of captain. Mulgrew provides both adaptability and dependability. However, one thing they all share i s an attitude t hat hugely impresses their new manager.
‘Kris is a fantastic football player,’ said Deila. ‘I hope he can develop even more and have a season similar to the last one. He will have a very important impact on the team and the games we play.
‘Scott is an example as a leader and a captain. Terrific. And also Charlie. Those players are real professionals and set the culture in the group. I want my players to be 100 per cent in every training session. We train as we play. That is vital if you are going to develop. If you cheat in training, then you cheat in the game.
‘These three players are a very good example of what I want to see. There is a reason why the best players are the best. You can see the hard work they put in and the knowledge they have. They always want to l earn and prepare properly for every training session.
‘It’s very important for the young players to look at these guys. That will show them what they have to do to get better.’
Deila analysed a huge database of statistics on Celtic’s performances l ast season to acquire a less ‘subjective’ opinion of how the team played, its main strengths and weaknesses.
Using less traditional techniques to bring about improvement is something the Norwegian is keen on. He wants all his staff to be up to date with the most modern methods in their specific areas.
‘At my former club, I used a lot of money on my staff because if you have a player but you can’t develop him then it’s no use,’ said Deila.
‘So your staff has to get the end product. They have t o be knowledgeable in every way — someone on psychology and mental training, someone on finishing, someone on recovery and injury prevention, and so on.
‘It’s like a library. You need all the books and then the players come and take the books they need. The players have to be curious, they have to want to learn, they have to want to get better.’