Celtic Diary Tuesday May 26: A Wee Break, And Then Back To Work…

So the trophy has been collected, and tucked away in the cupboard until it’s time to hand it back to us at the end of next season, and the players are all away. some on holiday, some back to their parent clubs, and others to seek out their own destiny.

Those of us old enough to remember when times weren’t so good will have enjoyed every moment of sundays presentation, and the scintillating performance that came before it.

Celtic rounded off a transitional season with a 5-0 win over Inverness, which went a little way to erasing the memory of injustice that accompanied the  last meeting between the clubs.

Inverness could argue that they were without a few key players, such as Alan Muir and Steven MacLean, but this time even their inclusion wouldn’t have made a difference.

The players will get a rest, and then the hard work will start again.

Ronny Deila , who has altered the way training is done now gets to alter the way pre season has been done, and that alone should fill us with confidence for the upcoming-and it won’t be long before they are here-qualifiers.

Whichever way you look at it, the Norwegian has made a difference, as he told the Evening Times

“I think we have to see the improvement we have made from the start until now and the best way to do that is with stats – the games we have played, the points we have taken, the goals we have scored, the goals we have conceded, We have good control over that and it is something we monitor a lot. So I can see that we have been getting better and stronger as the season has gone on.

“The game against Inter Milan also showed us that we have taken some steps forward. The Europa league gave us a chance to keep improving.

 It was important to us this season and I think we can take a lot of lessons from that into the European games this summer.

“I feel much more safe than I did this time last year, that is for sure. I feel that we have laid good foundations now and it is up to us to go on and build on that.”  

 There has been an astonishing improvement since the turn of the year. It seems that when the players realised he wasn’t going to buckle under the pressure, and their pal Neil Lennon wasn’t coming back, the initial reluctance gave way to a less childish approach and the new methods began to be accepted.

Ronny looked ahead, and then outlined his plans for the next couple of weeks;

 I think it would be a big achievement for us to get into the group stages of the Champions league because everyone can see how difficult a task it is.

“We are in a good place going forward. Charlie Mulgrew has played some football and will go away with Scotland so he will be fit when he gets back and Mikael Lustig should also be ready to come back into the team.

“Mikael is an experienced player and he is another player who is a leader. He is good in the air and he is a very good football player so it definitely makes the squad stronger.”  

“I am going to Norway for one week and then I will go abroad to a few different countries and do a little travelling,” said the Celtic manager. “I will be in touch with Peter all the time because we have a lot of things we want to work on as we try to make the squad stronger.

“But it is important too that I have some mental time. It is good to stop thinking every day about getting up and driving to work.

“I will always have my mind on the job and what I want to do, but it is important to also have a mental break and try to reflect on what has worked this season and what has not.

“We have had a lot of challenges this season. It is a club where every day is intense. I want to go away for a bit and come back with a clear plan on what I want for next season. ”  

He’s not fooling anyone.

He knows exactly what he wants for next season, and no doubt he’s told those around him.

 The failure of players such as Wakaso, Tonev, and Berget means Cetic are less likely to use a scatter gun approach on filling the squad with loannees. Although denaayer was a success, and his progress could prove to be important in tempting others to come to the club, it’s not what Deila wants. He is on record as saying he doesn’t want to develop players for other clubs, so we can assume he will use that option only in special cases.

 Another who came, kissed the badge and departed was John Guidetti. Sometimes , teaching kids to read can backfire, and when this boy read what was written about him after he played well, it went to his head, and now he’s being touted around Europe, and that will continue because despite what he and his agent think, he isn’t a top class player, and has proved he doesn’t want to learn how to be one.

 The squad will be trimmed, and there will be more leaving than joining.

 Deila has his plan, and he’s going to stick to it.

 That plan includes Stefan Scepovic, who started on sunday and scored a couple of goals, which to be fair is what he usually does when he starts.

Six from six , is it ?

Most of us figured he’d be away in the summer, another testament to the scouting divisions inability to find a striker, but it looks like he may get another chance.

 If he wants it, that is.

 Scott Brown praised the forward;

“Stefan did really well and he worked hard. That is what the gaffer asked of him, to work hard and the chances will come,” said Brown.

“Scepovic has been in and out of the side and has not played a lot recently, but again comes in from nowhere and scores two goals with a great performance.”

“He is so sharp. You saw against Inverness that he gets one shot at goal and he scores. It’s brilliant to have a striker like that to start or come off the bench.”  

 He is a traditional style poacher, and even early in his Celtic career it was plain he had a knack of getting himself into the right positions, but suffered a bit from a lack of service. And a bit of bad luck.

 Some might argue that he should have been in the team ahead of guidetti once it became apparent the Swede was looking to leave, and maybe thats a fair point. however, it may also be that he wasn’t ready.

 Ronny doesn’t like to rush people.

For example, when asked about Norwegian protege Martin Odegaard, Ronny replied ;

He should have come here. He’s not good enough for the first team yet, and he would have been in and out of the team. But he would have been better here.  

 It could be the same with Scepovic. Maybe the manager knows he has potential, but wants to be sure that when he gets his chance, he takes it.

Like Leigh Griffiths did.

whichever way you look at it, it’s a better option than Nadir ciftci, who was up to his tricks at the weekend, biting dundee’s Jim Mcallistair;

With the summer managerial roundabout already started in England, there may soon be talk of a move south for Ronny. Lets face it, the press have worked their way through the players and will have to think of something quick, or there will be a lot of blank pages this summer.

 Sam Allardyce was the first casualty, after West Ham decided they wanted to take the club in a diffeent direction. You’d have thought the big man would have sen it coming after someone hacked the official website;

 Then there’s the fallen giant on Merseyside, once mighty Liverpool , beaten 6-1 in the last game of a disastrous season at Stoke. Brendan rogers, who turned down the Chelsea job because he was trying to build a career, will no longer be allowed even to decide what they are having for tea in the Rogers household.

Iconic captain Steven Gerrard played his last game for the club, and he’s away to the USA now. which caused confusion at the airport when the other players got wind of a possible escape route.

 And  Newcastle are reeling from the statement by unpopular owner Mike Ashley, who has made a lifelong commitment to the club.

 Well, he said he would stay until they won something, so it’s probably even longer than that.

Or could it be Sunderland, if the great dick decides to leave on a high ?

 If I was Peter, I’d take Ronny’s phone off him. It’s likely to be busy over the next few weeks.

 But we shouldn’t worry, despite what stories are concocted by an MSM desperate to see the back of a forward thinking and innovative manager. Ronny himself is mystified at the lack of respect given to Celtic , especially from the authorities who scheduled the away trips to Inverness and Aberdeen after important Eurpoean games, and he can’t understand why the League isn’t more supportive of a club flying the flag for Scotland abroad.

 We know it’s because it’s , in their eyes, the wrong club, and perhaps Ronny is coming round to the somewhat unique set up in scotland, but it doesn’t appear to be driving him away.

 Last word goes to him, after Sundays presentation;

If you don’t share moments together they are nothing The most important people in your life need to be with you when you experience things and it was great to have my parents and my daughters here. The day would not have been the same without them.

“Without the supporters we are nothing. That is why Celtic are so big. That is the biggest thing I am pleased with – you can see people are happy with the way we play and they can see improvement, they are excited by how we play. It is a sign for me that we have done something right but we want to build on that relationship even more and I will do everything to keep improving.”

“I see myself here for a long while, although you never know in football.

“I love Glasgow, I like the people. I am happy. I want to continue.“

And we like him.

I had a wee chat with him last week, and the enthusiasm for the club, his style of football came off him in waves. As he explained his system to me, after i had pointed out i felt he was practicing a counter attacking style for europe in the recent away games at Aberdeen and st. Johnstone, i got a glimpse of what a one to one chat would feel like from a players point of view.

 So much so that after wards, outside the Forge, I took the ball off some kids who were playing in the street, and immediately looked up expecting Stefan Johansen to be nearby to pass it to.

The Diary is on record earlier in the season as not being Ronny’s biggest fan. I shook his hand , told him I got him wrong and was more than happy to do so.

He also gave his opinion on the diary, which i found to be, er, accurate and honest;

 Still, no hard feelings, and  he even let me hang around for a while.

Another reason to like Ronny came when he congratulated Hugh Keevins , Radio Clyde’s Voice of alzheimers, on thirty years in the media;

Alison Robbie @AlisonRobbie · May 23

Caption competition again today, as the last couple have been very good. some cracking replies if you want to check back on them.

What is he looking at ?