Celtic Diary Tuesday September 23: Celtic Secure World Title.

Finally , something to gloat about.

The Diary mentioned an online poll last week, which hundreds of you voted in, and the final result is in !

It was close, but that takes Deilas win record to two in eight, giving the players a much needed confidence boost, and hopefully the side can now kick on and start to play the football they are capable of.

Starting tomorrow night, live on the BBC, against Hearts in the League Cup.

The BBC, at a directors meeting yesterday, have been warned that their archaic imperialistic view of the world needs to change after a movement sprang up to boycott the tv licence fee as a protest against their recent coverage of the Scottish independence referendum, and there were calls to modernise the service;

Or at least make it entertaining. Sportsound, who will cover the game, often gives the impression that they share a director with mournful soap opera Eastenders, as presenters and guests  prattle on  in a low monotone  about events on the field, presumably so they can hear any ” sectarian ” singing from the Celtic End, and make you wish the BBC would show adverts at half time instead. Or highlights from Eastenders. Or Homes Under The Hammer.

Anything would be preferable.

Back to the football, and Ronny Deila was asked if he would play his strongest team against Hearts. Which, of course, implies that he knows what his strongest team is.

“We try to do that every time, but there are a lot of reasons why we do it [rotate the squad]. We’ve a long, hard match programme and you have to give some players the opportunity to get match fit.

“That’s something we are thinking of all the time. But in the game against Motherwell there were maybe too many changes. You could see that in the first-half.

“The League Cup is the first trophy we can win and, as I’ve said all the time, both domestic cups are important to us.

“I know the League Cup is sometimes used for playing younger teams, but we have used a lot of our squad the whole time.

“It’s going to be a tough match, the players and I know it, but I’m looking forward to playing another game so we can bounce back from the result against Motherwell.” 

We have a picture taken at the team selection meeting, which is held prior to every game…

 If a player doesn’t toe the line, and train properly, his name doesn’t even go into the pot. Pplayers such as Leigh Griffiths, who is still linked with a move to Hibernian.

Leigh is at Celtic and nothing is going on with Hibs. There haven’t been any real talks between the clubs.

“Leigh is fighting for a place in the starting XI. We want him here.

“He needs to work hard every day and take his chances when he gets them, same as everybody else at this club.” 

But as soon as Hibs agree to pay a higher percentage of his wages, he’ll be heading east.

Deila has done his homework on Hearts;

“I watched Hearts against Hibs and had people at the game on Saturday. We have a good idea of them and the boys have played them so we know what we’re going to meet.” 

Does this mean he is prepared to listen to someone elses opinion ahead of a game ? Or , as I suspect, is he a little too fond of the sound of his own voice ?

“There have been ups and downs,” Deila continued  “We have had some good games but sometimes the next game is not good enough, like against Motherwell.

“We need more progression and consistency in the performance. The lowest levels have to be higher and we have to manage that and work as a group.

“There are a lot of teams that will sit in,” he continued. “We got more tempo in second-half and opened Motherwell more but that’s what you have to prepare for.

“In the centre we open teams well but we need more in the wide areas to be at them in different spaces.” 

 It all sounds convincing, and to give Ronny credit, he appears to know what he’s talking about. But if thats the language he uses in the dressing room, he’s going to have his work cut out , becuase about halfway through his speech, the players will be playing candy crush on their phones.

 May I suggest a more, er, simple approach ?

Pleased to be of assistance.

The debate in the Diary replies yesterday concerned the future of the manager. Some-a minority-claimed it was too early to dismiss him. Others pointed out that Aberdeen and league leaders Dundee Utd, our two biggest challengers , have both lost at Celtic Park already this season. Thats true, but despite losing , United still lead the pack. Inverness are also ahead of us, and they beat the hoops .

It could be that Celtic won’t lead the table until the clocks go back, and on current form , it could well be they will go forward again before we hit the front.

That might sound a little pessimistic, it might even be unrealistic, but there are no signs that this team is a potential championship winning outfit.

So, if we accept that the club is going in the wrong direction, at what point do we finally call time on the Deila experiment ?

If we lose to Hearts ? Or , heaven forbid, in a tie against Second Rangers in a later round ?

If we fail to beat St. Mirren ?

Christmas ?

If we get knocked out of the Cup ?

From what I’ve seen of Deila so far, and how the players are reacting to him, a decision to either give him a full season or cut our losses needs to be made, and stuck to rigidly.

Whatever the club decides, at least we will know that the board  are either one hundred per cent behind him, or are already looking for his replacement.

And if, as is suspected, the players are trying to undermine him, then they will know he is in charge, and not going anywhere.

However, despite the League Cup being a “diddy tournament ” , calls for his dismissal will reach a crescendo by the weekend should the team perform below standard again. A defeat is not unlikely, and he needs to get his finger out now.

Claiming to have finished tinkering with the squad is a good start. It just depends on who he thinks his strongest team is.

Rumours of discontent in the camp were fuelled when he found a note on his desk…

Frank connor was the man featured in yesterdays diary, a man who many thought, especially the players at the time, should have been given the job on a permanent basis. Here’s another assistant manager, one you might not remember…