A confident Ronny Deila looked ahead to tonights opening champions League game against Stjarnan, and this time it sounds like he’s ready. To be fair, he knows his players now, and what they’re capable of.

And Scott Brown will be involved, which is always a bonus.

I’m not frightened about the level we are facing in the qualifiers, We are good enough to do it and I really believe in my team.

“Last season, you saw Maribor go into the Champions League group stage and take points off Chelsea.

“Legia Warsaw also went through the Europa League group stage without losing a point.

“So there are good teams out there, especially the champions of different countries.

“It is a tough competition but we believe we can make it and go through to the group stage. Celtic is a very big club and we have very good players now. We have good togetherness and I’m really looking forward to the games now.

“We have to beat teams of the level of Maribor and Legia. That’s the level we have to be at now.

“We were far away from 
Legia’s level last year but when we played Maribor, we should have beaten them.” 

Not travelling half way round the world for pre season training  has had it’s effect as well

It has worked out exactly as I hoped

“I can’t see anything we should have done differently. We had a good pre-season and everyone is injury-free except Kris Commons (pictured). I am just excited to get going now and play some important games.

“It feels very different to last year. There were a lot of new things for me last year, and also for the players. Now it is a much more settled group and we are much more prepared.” 

There seems to be a genuine desire to make amends for last seasons debacle, during which nothing seemed to go right. The aspect of those qualifiers which will have been drilled into the players is that once we get in front-remember we always scored early last year- we can then relax and let the opposition make mistakes. Or as Archie MacPherson would have said,” keep the heid “.

With the exception of the injured Kris commons and the suspended Virgil van Dijk, there’s a full squad to go with, but Deila must decide whether or not the new players are ready to do a job at this level this early in their Celtic careers.

Craig Gordon will start, but will Logan Bailly be on the bench, or will Leo Fasan be the deputy. As the chances of Gordon going off or being sent off are reduced due to the referee not having been trained in Lanarkshire, it’s probably not important, but we need to be ready for every possibility, and that’s why Bailly should get the nod. If the worst does happen, at least he is apparently experienced enough not to be fazed by the occasion.

Defence is a problem, not with ability, but with Matthews away and van Dijk unavailable, then Efe Ambrose and Emilio Izaguirre could be the full backs, with Deydrick Boyata and Charlie Mulgrew as centre halfs. These two started the Real Sociedad game together, which means it’s certainly something that Deila is considering, and with Mikael Lustig admitting he’s still below par, then as much as Lustig is arguably our best defender, it won’t do him any favours to rush him back.

The unfamiliar central defence should be protected by Scott Brown and nir biton, which should ease a few palpitations, and then with Stefan Johansen filling his usual number ten role, it is any two from three with Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay Steven probably just about getting the nod over James Forrest. Deila has stated the latter is still not performing at one hundred per cent capability, so I’d expect to se him on the bench, but joining the fray after Mackay Steven has worn himself out.

Leigh Griffiths will be straining at the ;eash to prove he’s still the number one striker, and should start. He , too, though, will wear himself out during the game, which will leave a tired defence to face the bustling Ciftci late on.

Bailly, Lustig, Fisher, Rogic, Henderson , Tierney and Ciftci would be the preferred ( by me ) substitutes bench, as Stokes and Scepovic were involved at morton the other night, which leads me to think they won’t be involved as Ronny either feels they ssare surplus to requirements or not quite fit enough yet.

Tactically, I’d expect nothing new from Deila, but perhaps a little more “keep the heid “, although when the substitutes come on, we may see a wave of late attacks, and consequently, as the Icelandic side tires , maybe a comfortable 4-0 win.

Ronny added to why he’s confident;

The level in our team is high and we are going to cause them so many problems in this game That’s our target. Of course, we have to defend well too. But it’s easier to defend against a long ball than against teams who play out from the back.

“I’m confident we are ready for the game. If we are at our best, we are going to be a handful for them.

“Everything is possible but we just need to go out, make a good performance and see how good they are. We are favourites and it is a team we should beat.

“Stjarnan got some good results in the Europa League last year, so they have some experience. We have to be really prepared.

“But again, I know how good my team is and if we are on top of our game, we should break them down.” 

One other thing he said, which was an indication of the style of the man concerned the national co-efficient, the European system which means Celtic have to start this early. His professionalism showed through;

“We have to concentrate on what we can do something with, and we want to get into the group stage. That is important for us and it’s important for Scotland.

When you go through these qualifiers and you look at where we stand in Scotland, that’s the level we are at.

“We can’t cheat ourselves better, we have to work to be better. Hopefully Aberdeen, Inverness and ourselves will all do well so we can get some good results for Scottish football this week.”  

It is that simple.

Of course, the Record, who delight in running the game down, as it gives them a chance to plead for the introduction of a new club to the top level, because playing against a club who’s players are all described as “former ” , used the quote to claim :

“

Celtic boss Ronny Deila says our game needs a

Euro reality check as we’re just another minnow nation 

whereas, using the same quotes, perhaps the headline should have been

Deila Pledges To Work Hard To Improve Scotland’s

Standing In Europe.

No less accurate, and much more constructive.

Accurate and constructive. Two new words for the Record sports department to look up.

Stjarnan have their troubles ahead of tonights game.

But although their league campaign isn’t quite going to plan so far, the Champions League offers them a little bit of respite from the day to day dirge of league football.

Not sure how to describe our feelings ahead of our first @ChampionsLeague game ever. It is an honor to play that game against @celticfc

And their season so far, is , well, dirgy. ( That’s not even a word -Ed )

• 
  H

Latest results

 all home away  6 9 12 

show all

10.07.2015	ICE D1	Stjarnan FC	1-2	Valur Reykjavik
29.06.2015	ICE D1	Keflavik IF	1-2	Stjarnan FC
22.06.2015	ICE D1	Stjarnan FC	0-1	KR Reykjavik
18.06.2015	ICE Cup	Stjarnan FC	0-3	Fylkir FC
15.06.2015	ICE D1	Fylkir FC	0-2	Stjarnan FC
07.06.2015	ICE D1	Stjarnan FC	1-3	Fjölnir

Daniel Siebert  German  Age 31 years Born 04 May 1984 Competition Seasons Matches Details Bundesliga 3 25 84 1 2014/2015 8 m 24  0  2013/2014 9 m 32  1  2012/2013 8 m 28  0  2. Bundesliga 6 44 172 4 3. Liga 6 36 146 8 DFB-Pokal 3 3 12 3 Euro U-19 Qual. 1 2 11 0 Friendlies 1 1 3 0 TOTAL 111 428 16

111 games, 428 yellow cards….

I think I’m on the point of spotting a problem here. With another two rounds to go, we really don’t need to pick up any unnecessary bookings.

Yes. you.

For European matches, referees do a wee bit of research, and this usually means that the man in the middle will be watching what he thinks are “problem players “, such as dissenters, hackers and those wearing Green and White. ( pp.62-66, SFA Referee Training Manual ).

I think Keep The Heid is becoming more important with every word I type.

We are an experienced side now, who, with one or two exceptions, know each others strengths and weaknesses.

Brown needs to be on hand to help any who are new to this level, and he needs to stress that while on the park, there are no tackles that earn a booking, unless it prevents a goal.

And the high level of bookings dished out by the referee in previous games suggests he is a little pernickity, so don’t talk back to him, don’t over celebrate and make sure your shirt is tucked in.

Right,

Let’s lighten the mood.

My next door neighbour is happy. she’s eighty six, and her new therapist has helped with the athritis in her hands. Apparently she noticed he wore a Rangers tie pin, and you should see how she grips  her  purse every time he comes round.

NASA have released pictures of the dwarf planet Pluto, taken on a recent fly past by one of their rockets,  which might alarm some of you.

Anthony Hamilton on twitter spotted this in his local shop;

Those of you who listen to BBC Sportsound will have no doubt heard that Jim Spence, one of a limited number of decent journalists around, is quitting the Beeb.

He’s away on holiday, we think, for a while;

Nice Guy Jim was a little stunned by the good wishes…

Feck….you’d think I was deid. I’m leaving the BEEB not going to the knackers yard. Plenty of fight in this dog yet  

That’s not a selfie on the end, by the way, it’s a emojim. He’s copyrighted it.

 We at Etims wish him all the best, and his contributions will be missed. No doubt he’llpop up again somewhere, and hopefully he’ll get a job where they let him say what he thinks.

Good luck.

Somewhere he won’t come across these sort of peepil;

Sometimes you feel that there really is no hope for them, and they deserve everything they get.

There’s an interesting story  concerning a Glasgow council and Celtic that might get more attention than it deserves… , but not one about state aid , unfortunately for some..

Celtic stops funding post match council clean-ups

Good point. Look at what someones left lying around.

CELTIC have been blasted by local councillors and residents after they decided to stop funding the council’s post match clean-up operation. 

And residents …

The east-end club has decided to withdraw a payment of around £1000 per match to the council for clearing streets neighboring the ground after matches, leaving locals wondering if the service will continue. 

Which locals ?

The Parkhead club has contracts with the council to empty bins and clear the immediate vicinity stadium but has decided to cancel the service that extends to the surrounding streets. 

We hear the club won’t be helping to drain the Crinan Canal either.

Outraged resident groups and councillors are desperately seeking clarification from the Scottish Premiership champions as to why they have made the decision. 

Residents…..

Councillor George Redmond, who represents the ward has branded the move as ‘unacceptable.’

Right, he’s a councillor. we’ll hear from a resident in a moment.

He said: “It’s really disappointing that Celtic would choose to withdraw this payment without any sort of engagement with the local community.  

Ah, it’s not about the withdrawal, it’s because no-one “consulted “them . Fancy that. a councillor with a high opinion of his own oipinion.

The club has a much wider responsibility to the communities surrounding the stadium and they should be good community partners.

They could bring money into the area , for example, …..

“This is not the end of the matter. The community councils in Parkhead, Dalmarnock and Barrowfield are up in arms. 

“We’re not going to stand for it.” 

“They have asked Councillor Kucuk and myself to act on their behalf to get this resolved.

He hopes a meeting with club officials will help overturn the decision.

“We are planning to meet with Celtic to have a responsible dialogue to find out what is happening.

“We hope they take this issue seriously and acknowledge the impact it has for local residents, hopefully they will see sense and continue paying. 

Ah, the residents. Let’s hear from one or two of them.

“The biggest issue is that there was no engagement whatsoever they just told the council they wouldn’t be paying it anymore and I think that’s the most disappointing thing. 

The biggest issue isn’t the dirty streets, it’s that no-one told him.

“It is unacceptable that they would act in this way, with no regard for the communities around the stadium. 

Woah , there, hoss.

Let’s talk about “regard for communities around the stadium. “

And in particular, this lady.

Margaret Jaconelli, once of Ardenlea Street, Dalmarnock.

Her flat was compulsorily purchased to make way for the new Commonwealth games houses. Initially she was offered £30,000 for the flat, but battled on to eventually receive £80,000. But had to spend a lot of that on the legal fees for the battle to get that money.

She’s not against progress, but against the way progress was being made.

 “I’m not against change, I believe in change for the city but I believe there is a way to do it.

“It shouldn’t be the wee ordinary people that get affected.” 

The wee ordinary people that Redmond is concerned about, presumably.

When Jaconelli was originally offered the £30,000 for her flat, when the lowest you could get a similar place for in the East End was around £72,000, what did her concerned councillor George say?

From Glasgow East and North News, April 23 2014

With the Commonwealth Games fast approaching, the Council wished to demolish the whole street which occupied the proposed site of the Athletes’ Village. Everybody else in the street had been re-housed but Margaret stayed firm despite a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) being issued against her property. As one of the rare individuals who owned property there, she refused to move until adequate compensation had been forthcoming. The Council had no intention of discussing the matter any further with her and was told to “take it on the chin” by Councillor George Redmond. 

The next thing she knew was being awoken at dawn on a March day in 2011 when her door was being hammered down by the police and sheriff officers concerned. She had been on a six year one-woman crusade to try and save her family from eviction whilst the rest of Dalmarnock was being flattened all around them. The Glasgow City Council’s version of the story was that Margaret Jaconelli had refused to accept the ‘mediation’ on offer. (This ‘mediation’ was offered by the Scottish Government but was initially refused by the City Council itself).

Top man.

What do other residents think of him? The one’s he is looking out for ?

When  he’s not  telling the Sunday Times (2007 ) that he sees the Dalmarnock of the future as a  “thriving community of penthouse flats” , that is. 

Alex Saville, on the Glasgow guide website said, back in May 2014;

Councillor Redmond came across as a sanctimonious little s**! 
He said “Some people ask me if she (Margaret Jaconelli) likes the attention” Who, I ask myself, other than a self-centred politician would ask that sort of question?
Then he said “Does she want money? Does she want a house? Does she want both? I don’t know.”
Did it occur to him to ask her?
How about when a constituent crossed the road and asked him how they were supposed to buy a loaf of bread without walking three miles.
His smarmy response was “The Games…etc,etc.”
Appalling!
This is the man who earns £16,234 a year as a Councillor. Until he fell out with Gordon Matheson, Glasgow’s Labour Leader, he earned £20,000 for his ‘Services’ to S.P.T., a political appointment for loyalty to Matheson.
A couple of years ago I looked at Redmond’s salary, which at that time was £16,000 plus for being a Councillor and £16,000 plus for membership of the Board at the council’s S.E.C.C.
He also at that time declared that owned four properties. Cant seem to access that register anymore. No surprise there!
A Champagne Socialist of the First Order.

 Well, there’s two. Which incidentally is two more residents than the Evening Times managed to find.

Celtic haven’t commented on the issue.

No wonder. If the pictures of these three, and the comments by the “concerned residents ” I’ve seen about Redmond are anything to go by, then he’s obviously on some sort of publicity stunt, and there must be an election coming up soon.

Harry hood and Tommy Callaghan of San Antonio thunder were the men in the pictures yesterday.

Today, we have the legendary Bobby Lennox, but who is the fellow he is with ?