DEILA: I CAN’T EVEN THINK ABOUT SACK

Deila focused on long-term plan at Celtic despite failing to deliver again on Euro stage

Thursday was a performance I am not proud of. We have to do better

TIME is becoming an enemy f or Ronny Deila. There cannot be an indefinite wait for actions to match words in the defining arena of European football. Reflections on the ignominious events of Molde came with some familiar refrains. There were defiant perceptions of progress, admissions of inconsistency and an insistence that delivering real improvements cannot be a swift task.

The anger expressed i n Norway suggested that patience is wearing thin on the part of some Celtic supporters. Deila is a manager back under serious scrutiny.

For those in the Parkhead boardroom, a simple question remains. Do they believe the 40-year- old will deliver Champions League football at a third time of asking next season? That is surely central to his future in the job.

Evidence either way will be accrued in the current Europa League campaign. With just two points from their opening three games, and one truly woeful performance in his homeland, Deila badly needs to re-affirm his credibility in the remaining Group A fixtures.

Pressure is mounting upon a man who thinks long term by nature. But Deila still insists he cannot afford to dwell on fears of time running out and the plug being pulled.

‘That is always a concern. It is,’ he admitted. ‘But I can’t go around thinking about that. I have to think about performances.

‘I have to think about how I get the players to play the best they can and together. If we get that, we can win more — I know it.’

Celtic will l i kely respond to their ransacking in the fjords with victory over Dundee United tomorrow. Domestic football is not, however, where judgments are being made in the current climate.

Whether Deila likes it or not, matches such as Thursday evening’s 3-1 defeat are what truly matter in terms of his role.

‘You can see with all managers around Europe, it takes time to develop things,’ he argued.

‘It doesn’t happen over one season and it is important to see the history of managers overall.

‘Our main goal is to go into the Champions League again. Hopefully, we will do that next year.

‘It is harsh to say that if we do well domestically, that is nothing.

‘We won two trophies last year and that is a positive thing. You can’t take that away from us.

‘This year we are still in every competition and not so many teams go for winning the double or three trophies.

‘I understand the pressure, but I still don’t see how you can’t still have a good season.’

There were positives within the draws against Ajax and Fenerbahce, even if winning positions were spurned on both occasions.

Yet, what happened against Molde was every bit as grim as the second-leg collapse against Malmo that cost Deila’s side their place among the continent’s elite.

Again, it was a dreadful standard of defending that proved crucial to Celtic’s downfall. The personnel cannot change until January, so it begs the question of whether a new tactical approach is required.

‘We have to improve, individually and as a team, to concede fewer goals,’ responded Deila. ‘I don’t think we have to change, but we have to improve. And that’s what we need to do in the next games.

‘I think we were too open against Molde. We talked before that the most important thing was the balance in the team. Again, it is about improving the match plan and individual things.’

Detecting forward steps is not easy against a backdrop of the performance in the Aker Stadium.

Deila, though, could still see them as he sought to defend his record over the past two seasons.

‘We have won more games in Europe than we did last year,’ he said. ‘We have had our ups and downs but, overall, our performances in Europe have been better than last year.

‘But at that level I don’t think we have played better than we did against Inter Milan last season. That was maybe the best we have done.

‘Against Fenerbahce at home we did a lot of good things but gave away two easy goals, and we could say the same with our performance over there against Ajax. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

‘Against Malmo at home, there were a lot of good things but in the end it was not what we hoped for or what we deserved. Against Malmo away we were poor and that was the same in Molde.

‘Life with a football team goes up and down, you have to see the pathway to success. You have to bounce back but then bounce up the way as well and learn things.

‘Thursday night was a performance I am not proud of and I don’t think any of the players were proud of, either. We have to do better when we play away in Europe.’

Those who spend money following Celtic would agree. The sentiment was expressed forcefully to Deila by a small band of f ans who barracked him and his players as they left the Aker Stadium.

‘I understand that the fans are frustrated,’ said Deila. ‘ Everyone has to understand that, for me, it is even more painful, but I do understand because it did not look like we were performing the way we wanted.

‘When you don’t perform, you get confrontations. That is not only with the supporters, it is also inside the group with the staff because they are so eager to perform.

‘A culture without confrontation means people don’t care and then there is no improvement.

‘We have to handle bad times as well as good times.

‘You get a lot of credit when everything is going well but when the bad times come you have to take them as well. I am very aware of where we are and what we have to do.

‘I had some friends there at the match, I know people in Norway. They know what I have chosen and they shouldn’t feel sorry for me. It could be worse.’