RONNY RISES ABOVE IT ALL

Collins hails Celtic boss for keeping his cool as the flak flies

FOR football managers, adversity not only builds character. It reveals it. As Ronny Deila withstands a barrage of criticism over his Celtic stewardship, assistant John Collins admires his grace under fire.

Where other managers resort to suspicion, monosyllabic responses and paranoia, the Norwegian remains open and unusually approachable.

If his job is on the line, he shows no sign of wilting under the strain of what Celtic ambassador Tom Boyd calls the ‘hysteria’ surrounding his status.

‘Ronny has handled it really well,’ said Collins yesterday.

‘He’s been very, very calm. He doesn’t get too high or too low. It’s been new for him but I think he’s coped admirably.

‘He’s chilled. He knows it comes with the territory. We aren’t going to change it, so you just have to go with the flow.

‘That is a huge strength of his. Because if you let it get to you, eat away at you and get angry, it is no good for anyone — it certainly doesn’t help us. It is better that we get it than the players.’

The strain could be eased a little more this evening. Aberdeen lost to Inverness on Monday night and face another tricky away game at Partick Thistle.

The expectation remains that Deila will win his second title. Even if he does, however, doubts remain over his ability to lead Celtic to the Champions League at the third time of asking.

Managing Celtic has become a dangerous game of Russian Roulette — one false move could explode any pretence of normality.

Dei la is working in abnormal circumstances, where even a league championship may not be enough to keep his job.

‘As every month goes by, you get stronger,’ said Collins. ‘You know what is coming, you know how to deal with situations. You learn from experiences and handle criticism.

‘No one likes getting criticism, everyone likes getting praise. But you get used to it.

‘We all feel it together. Ronny gets it but we all feel it — we are a team.

‘He is up front, taking it on the chin and having to face you guys, but we all feel it with him.

‘We are together. But we get the rewards together, when we are picking up cups and leagues. We take the bad stuff but we take the good stuff as well.’

The bad stuff comes in many forms. An inability to socialise after defeats. Ferocious media scrutiny. Former players turned pundits telling it how it is.

Boyd, a former Celtic team-mate and neighbour of Collins, swam against the tide recently when he provided a strongly-worded defence of Deila in the face of an onslaught from the likes of Chris Sutton and Andy Walker.

Newly appointed as a club ambassador, there is cynicism over this. The feeling he could hardly say anything else amid accusations the former captain will say whatever it takes to cling on to a club blazer.

Collins, not unnaturally, was glad of the support.

‘I think a common theme this year has been a little bit of flak coming our way from ex-players. But that comes with the territory, we know that,’ he said.

‘It was nice of Tommy to come out and rebalance it, by saying something positive. We thank him for it, it was nice for an ex-player to be supportive and we definitely appreciate that.

‘Everyone is going to have an opinion. Tommy is a respected guy in football, he played for Scotland and Celtic many times.

‘As an analyst, you have to give a balanced view, or give your opinion. There are qualified opinions and unqualified opinions.’

Boyd believes the clamour to sack Deila ignores a basic fact. Aberdeen have improved.

The statistics and points totals support that line of thought, and so does Celtic’s assistant manager despite Monday’s controversial Dons defeat in Inverness.

‘Aberdeen were everyone’s favourites because they were on such a good run, but you never get it easy at Inverness,’ said Collins.

‘Yogi’s teams are always well set up, well organised, they play good football and are strong men, so you never get an easy game against Inverness.

‘ It didn’t really surprise me, although I thought Aberdeen would win, I have to say.’

For Aberdeen, the consequences of that defeat could be grim. Celtic remain three points ahead with a game in hand. If Derek McInnes’ side fail to take full points tonight, the gap could go back to six if Celtic quell an Inverness resurgence at home tomorrow.

‘The most important thing is we win it,’ argued Collins. ‘We want to win it, first and foremost, but the points total doesn’t matter too much.

‘I would rather win it by 17, if you are asking me that question. But as long as at the end of the season we are top of the league, that is the target.

‘We want to keep winning three points, that is what we are after every week. We probably would get criticism if we only win it by a point.

‘ But Aberdeen have had an exceptional season.

‘I think you have got to give them credit, they have made good signings. The signings have made them better, they haven’t lost anyone. No one has dismantled their team like Dundee United, where there were three, four players gone.

‘They have managed to keep a team together. Stability, continuity helps when you are building a team. They have had the benefit of that, Derek has kept all his best players and added good players. That is why they are close to us.’

The ideal scenario for Celtic would be a repeat of last season. Twelve months ago, the Pittodrie side kept in touch before finishing the season 17 points adrift.

With the exception of Jozo Simunovic, Celtic have most of their key players fit. They have a large squad — top heavy with inactive midfielders — and there could be no excuse now for losing the title they have won in each of the last four seasons.

‘Our objective is to do that,’ added Collins. ‘We have got boys who have been over the course before, but questions have been asked of them for six months by Aberdeen, so they have answered questions. So we will soon see.’

He is up front and takes it on the chin but we all feel it