Taxi for Deila but others should also exit Celtic Park
AMID the acres of newsprint devoted to previewing the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final between Celtic and Rangers last week, one single line stuck out for me.
It came from Celtic right-back Mikael Lustig in response to a question he was asked about the implications of a defeat for his manager Ronny Deila.
“There is a lot at stake and not just for the manager,” he said. “It’s all of the players as well. If we don’t do well then maybe we won’t be here next year.”
The focus of so much of the build-up to the Old Firm match at Hampden yesterday was on Deila and his future.
Given the growing unhappiness with the Norwegian among the Celtic support as a result of unconvincing domestic form and woeful European displays, that was understandable.
It seems certain he will, despite the fact his side are on the verge of winning their fifth consecutive Scottish title, leave Parkhead this summer.
Yet, on the evidence of the display at the National Stadium, and many more like it in 2015-16, a fair few more should follow him out of the exit door.
Dedryck Boyata limped off midway through the first half as a result of a muscle strain he sustained early in the game. That may have been responsible for his subdued showing.
But this was yet another occasion where the Belgian centre-half failed to impress. He looked as if he struggled with the pace and intensity of the derby in his brief time on the pitch.
Gary Mackay-Steven, too, was hugely disappointing. He contributed nothing before being replaced by Callum McGregor in the second half. He was lucky to last that long.
The same goes for Stefan Johansen. The PFA Scotland Player of the Year did well to tee up Leigh Griffiths before the glaring Patrick Roberts miss in the first half. But he was anonymous.
Celtic fared better when Tom Rogic, who scored a fine equaliser in the second period of extra-time, came on.
It is hard to see what Efe Ambrose, Carlton Cole, James Forrest and Colin Kazim-Richards have to contribute to Celtic’s cause going forward.
When your two best players are teenagers — Kieran Tierney, 18, and Patrick Roberts, 19, put many of their older and more experienced team mates to shame — it tells its own damning story.
Whoever succeeds Deila will need to oversee a cull of playing personnel to ensure he doesn’t suffer the same fate.
AND ANOTHER THING . . .
THERE was a kind of poetic justice in Jason Cummings scoring the penalty at Hampden on Saturday that booked Hibs’ place in the Scottish Cup final. How must the striker have felt in the first half when his attempt to net a Panenka penalty backfired on him as the ball sailed over the crossbar?
With every Dundee United supporter in the 19,651 crowd at the National Stadium revelling in his very public humiliation and all the Hibs fans cursing his name, not particularly great I am sure.
But fair play to the 20-year-old for at least having the audacity to try something so bold on such a stage. Our national game could do with far more with his sort of chutzpah.
From what I saw of it on television, the semi-final was pretty diabolical fare. Cummings deserves credit for trying to light up a drab game.
Scottish football has been blessed with some gallus characters over the years. From Jim Baxter to Mo Johnston to James McFadden, we have always rejoiced in those whose natural ability has been matched by an arrogance.
Cummings, as we saw once again at the weekend, is not yet the finished article. For all the goals he has scored for the Easter Road club, the suspicion remains that his self-belief outweighs his actual talent.
Still, he showed great nerve to first accept responsibility for taking another penalty in the shoot-out after 120 minutes and then convert it after his earlier error. Hopefully, he will learn from the experience and mature.
It seems certain he [Deila] will leave Parkhead this summer... and a fair few more should follow him out the exit door
ONE MORE THING . . .
SCOTLAND manager Gordon Strachan was an interested observer at Hampden yesterday as his former club Celtic did battle with Rangers.
So, it would be no surprise if Barrie McKay, the Rangers winger who performed so outstandingly and was a deserved recipient of the ma-of-thematch award, is included in his squad for the friendlies against Italy on May 29 and France on June 4.
Strachan promoted both John McGinn and Kieran Tierney to the senior set up for the games against the Czech Republic and Denmark this month after working with the Scotland Under-21s back in November.
McKay clearly didn’t catch his eye on that occasion, but he couldn’t fail but to have been impressed with the 21-year-old, who outshone on-loan £12m Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts yesterday, and should call him up for the double header in Attard and Metz.
TOMORROW Nick Rodger