That surely couldn’t have been that much of a surprise ? Though , to be fair, he did do his best to cut down on that total with his early European selections and tactics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ve adapted quite well. It was tough in the beginning but as I said in my first press conference I\u2019m a quick learner and I stand by my words. I\u2019ve learned a lot and there\u2019s more to come.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve talked about being a top athlete but you need to have that as a coach as well. You need to prepare and be aware of your energy and use it at the right moments.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou always have to be focused and be ahead. There are hundreds of things you can do but you have to find the thing to improve the team for the next game.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Alarmingly,its becoming obvious he wasn’t ready for the step up, which he’s now realised. Thats not a bad thing, because maybe now he has realised that the expectation levels are a wee bit higher in Glasgow than he’s used to. At Stromgodset he was given time, and took quite a while to get results. He could still deliver a very successful season, as he does seem to carry a lot of luck which has covered any initial doubts.<\/p>\n \u00a0Four trophies are still in his sights and one of them begins today.<\/p>\n \u00a0Hearts, by their own standards, are having a great season. Robbie Neilsen has got them playing for each other in a way that as yet is beyond Celtic. It won’t be easy today, and Celtic are still missing influential players such as Mikael Lustig , one of only a few who make a significant difference to the side when they are playing.<\/p>\n \u00a0Deila paid his usual, non committal respect to the opposition;<\/p>\n \u201cGoing to Tynecastle will be as tough as going to any Premiership ground.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey had a good match here in the League Cup and we know the atmosphere will be exciting and we\u2019re looking forward to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n With Kris commons and James Forrest offering options up front, as well as a resurgent Leigh Griffiths there should be a rollover for any CSCs again who do the” put a pound in and name the team ” to pass the time on the bus.<\/p>\n Craig Gordon didn’t have his best game since signing in the summer against Salzburg, but thats simply because he’s set such high standards . will he be rested, giving Lukasz Zaluska a start ? Actually, to see the Pole line up would give us all a start, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he rested Gordon.<\/p>\n Adam Matthews hasn’t been at his best either, suffering perhaps in the knowledge that he isn’t first choice, and with his pal Ledley already away, and Kris commons likely to follow, the Welshman could just be marking time until January.<\/p>\n Darnell Fisher has yet to feature under the new regime, so Matthews is a cert to start, and we need a big game from him.<\/p>\n Emilio Izaguerre has no competition for his shirt, and he is a candidate for player of the season at this stage, even adding goalscoring to his game recently. He’ll play, as will Virgil van dijk and if fit Jason Denaayer. Efe Ambrose will fill in for Denaayer if he doesn;t make it, and van Dijk if he hasn’t come out of the trance he’s been in this term,.<\/p>\n Scott Brown and Stefan Johansen could have any three of about half a dozen in front of them, with Charlie Mulgrew a doubt, maybe Beram Kayal can put himself in the shop window, or even Nir Biton, the other Israeli who has contributed little since Deila took over.<\/p>\n More likely we’ll see Calum McGregor, because we always do, Kris Commons , because Ronny says he likes him, and probably the hard working Anthony Stokes, with \u00a0James Forrest likely to be on the bench, as his commendable and careful return to full fitness is continued. Which is a bit of a kick in the teeth for Leigh Griffiths, who hates Hearts and deserves a run out after his efforts in midweek.<\/p>\n John Guidetti will be back, and from stories going round you’d think he’d already signed up for good with the hoops. Not quite. He’s still considering other options. Personally, I hope Southampton go into liquidation or they sack Ronald Koeman before the window opens, because thats the only other option he’s chewing over.<\/p>\n So, that gives us Zaluska, Matthews, Izaguerre, van Dijk, Denaayer, Brown , Johansen, Commons, McGregor, \u00a0Stokes \u00a0Guidetti<\/p>\n Expect a high scoring game, maybe 3-2 or 4-3 to Celtic. Whatever, it will be a little more exciting than most games, hopefully for the right reasons, and delivering the right result.<\/p>\n We asked a coule of players if they were worried about facing the first division leaders ;<\/p>\n Elsewhere,<\/strong> manager Ronny Deila has vowed to fight for aleksandr Tonev when his appeal against the wingers seven match ban, handed out by the SFA when they decided he might well have called Shay Logan of Aberdeen names.<\/p>\n “Balance of Probability” was the term given by the powers that be to describe how they arrived at their decision.meaning he probably said it so he must be guilty.<\/p>\n Could we get togther a case that says the SFA are a corrupt and self serving entity who are not working for the good of the game in Scotland ?<\/p>\n On the balance of probability, I think the hearing will only last about twenty minutes.<\/p>\n \u00a0Comedian John Bishop <\/strong>has decided to quit the social media site Twitter for a while, after he posted a picture of himself pretending to take a press conference at Celtic Park and predictably received a number of replies which seemed to eminate from supporters of a now defunct Glasgow club which cast doubt on his parentage and a number of other things. I’m not reprinting the here, but suffice to say they weren’t very nice. Bishop is a friendly and likeable enough guy, who is enjoying his new found fame and wealth, and has the look of someone who expects for it to disappear as quickly as it came. Good luck to him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Oh, and he has never stolen anyones jokes when he was drinking in the Red Admiral in Runcorn many years ago.<\/p>\n On a Tuesday i think it was. Or it would have been if he had. But he didn’t.<\/p>\n You know that feeling<\/strong> you get when you’ve made an arse of something, and hope no-ones noticed ?<\/p>\n Or perhaps a foul or obnoxious emission has entered the atmosphere from \u00a0one of the orifices in your body ?<\/p>\n He does. And there are probably going to be a few more emissions today, when the under pressure funster takes his unique style of football into the Scottish cup as well. Second Rangers, who are not having the best of times at the moment, host Kilmarnock today, and with another shortfall in the accounts he’ll be hoping for a big crowd.<\/p>\n About 120,000 should do it.<\/p>\n The BBC coverd Dundees win over Aberdeen yesterday, but a crisis was averted when Sky Sports stepped in to show the Ibrox clash, and before the 9pm watershed as well.<\/p>\n Defeat for McCoist will push him closer to the end of his management career, which would be a shame, as he seems to have mastered the art of standing with his arms folded, leaving only tactics, man management , scouting, purchasing players and dealing with the media for him to cover.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hers hoping Kilmarnock do the business. I really don’t want to play them twice in one season. I would like the Scottish League Cup game to stand as a one off clash between the two clubs before they hurtle off into oblivion in the customary way that teams playing out of ibrox tend to do.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dundee Supporters Association<\/strong> chairman Kenny Ross has a gripe. Actually , he’s got quite a few of them. And they seem reasonable enough, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been inundated by emails and phone calls from DSA secretaries telling me about a disappointing experience last weekend and I am going to ask Celtic to comment,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhy were Dundee FC only given 300 unrestricted view seats when there were 20,000 empty seats at the game.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cCould the Dundee support not have been accommodated in an area with an unrestricted view? They could have easily sat behind the goal just along from where they were housed or in the section in the top tier where the flags were.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhy is the large screen TV that used to be attached to the huge view restricting pillar in the away end been removed when there are still screens on which the match can clearly be seen in the home ends? In some seats almost half the pitch cannot be seen and the large TV screen that used to be attached to the pillar used to help a bit.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhy were some Dundee fans sold unrestricted view seats for an extra \u00a33 only to find when they turned up that stewards told fans to sit where they want.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net\/hphotos-xap1\/v\/t1.0-9\/10805720_889178381101768_8467795823553012850_n.jpg?oh=16bd6ec650f635ffa5a0e67d9ee219cd&oe=55158B71\")
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