Deila believes his replacement must have bond with club
THERE is already a queue forming at Ronny Deila’s door for a seat that is not yet cold.
As a list of names who share a common thread make the shortlist for his position, Deila mused last night that his tenure at Celtic might have been different had he had a previous affinity with the club.
Roy Keane, Michael O’Neill, Davie Moyes, Paul Lambert, Neil Lennon and Martin O’Neill have all been linked with the job; all have either played for Celtic or have made their feelings about the club known.
As Celtic look to learn lessons from what was an imaginative but failed appointment that did not work out the way they envisaged, it will be a tried-andtested formula the Parkhead club deploy as they seek to uncover Deila’s replacement this summer.
While the Norwegian might ponder whether things would have been different had he understood the pressures of Celtic before he arrived, he has nevertheless maintained that it is not a bad thing for the club to pursue a manager who falls into the “Celticminded” category.
“If the next manager has a Celtic background, then that’s not a negative thing,” he said. “It’s not the most important thing, but it’s a good thing. It’s good to understand what Scottish football is all about and understand what the club is all about. I think that’s an important thing. At the same time, if you are a bad manager then it’s not worth anything – you need to have the package first. But if you have a Celtic background, then that can only be a positive thing to bring into the club. When you are a Celtic person, it’s easier to get accepted very quickly. You know the environment much better.”
Asked whether it would have made a difference to his time in office had he come to the job with a Celtic background, Deila said: “I think so, yes. It could have made a difference. It’s always difficult for a manager to go abroad. There aren’t many who have done it and really succeeded. It’s tough because of the culture and language changes. When you speak Norwegian it’s easy – you can get a stone to jump. But suddenly you need to speak in another language and you don’t have all the words. It takes time to get into things. So it was challenging for me, although I have learned a lot. A lot of my ideas are in the club now and will stay here for a long, long time.”
Meanwhile, the Norwegian’s focus is not on who his replacement could be but rather on ensuring he rounds off what has been a chaotic season by cajoling four good performances out of his side.
It is inevitable now that he will lead Celtic to a fifth successive title, giving him a unique place in the fabric of the club. While his reign will be marked with the European failures and an inability to dominate domestically the way the club wanted given the absence of Rangers in the top flight, he has delivered two championships.
The Celtic fans have sung of landing a historic 10 in a row over the last four years, something that Deila cautioned against chasing too much.
“This club is in a very good situation and if they stay hungry and keep getting better, then it will be very hard to catch them,” he said. “But I think it is very dangerous to look too far ahead. You have to take it day by day and look at every game coming up. But the club has great experience now and they are a winning club. But the whole time you have to be ahead of your opponents.
“Rosenborg did it. They were unbelievably consistent and the manager was there for 13 years. The whole style they played meant that everybody could close their eyes and they still knew what each other was doing. It was printed into the club and that is something that Celtic has as well, but they need to keep working to get the results.”
It is unclear yet what the future of John Kennedy and John Collins, Deila’s coaching assistants at Celtic, will be. Deila spoke highly of the contribution both men have made to his time at the club, although it was difficult not to automatically dismiss his theory that they could replace him.
“That’s possible, everything is possible,” he said. “They have both seen what it’s all about and have been at the club before, as well. They could follow up a lot of the things we have started. So of course, it’s possible.”
He did, however, maintain that Kennedy has the potential to be a future Celtic manager.
“Kennedy is a great prospect to become a very good manager,” said Deila. “He is very determined and wants to learn. He is hard-working and intelligent, socially and football-wise. This is just the start for him.
“He could be the Celtic manager in the future, one day. It’s too early for him now – he needs to get out and get some experience – but he’s respected within the whole club. The players like him and you can see he has leadership qualities.”
Ronny Deila was speaking as Celtic signed a four-year extension of their partnership with Magners Irish Cider.