{"id":6791,"date":"2015-03-16T11:03:12","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T11:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=6791"},"modified":"2015-03-16T11:03:12","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T11:03:12","slug":"celtic-diary-monday-march-16-hes-relentless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=6791","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Monday March 16: He’s Relentless !"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Celtic beat Dundee United 2-0, Anthony Stokes summed up the new manager with the words that could be used to describe the way Deila has transformed the mentality at Celtic Park.<\/p>\n

“He’s relentless “<\/em><\/p>\n

Goals from Kris Commons and substitute James Forrest secured the League Cup, which could turn out to be an “I was there ” moment if it turns out to be the first in a long winning run for the Norwegian.<\/p>\n

The boss had a message for all those who doubted him;<\/p>\n

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Scott Brown had a message too, for those who thought he was out of line popping out for a drink, a pizza and a lapdancer on his day off, when he rubbed his stomach after saluting the support;<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Broony\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That was a reference to the pizza. Thankfully he didn’t rub anything to reference the lapdancer.<\/p>\n

Adam Matthews provided a moment of hilarity when he referenced the pictures that had appeared in the Scottish Sun, showing that the players didn’t think anything of it either.<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

The team that laughs together, wins together.<\/p>\n

Ronny spoke to the media after the game, and it was hard not to feel delighted for him. He’s matching the fans affection for him with his own affection for the club;<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great feeling. It\u2019s good to get a good start when you are a manager for a club as big as Celtic.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first trophy we could win and we did it. You get an appetite after this and you want more.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy for the boys and I\u2019m proud of them. We had a professional performance today so we should really enjoy this moment.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have talked about the treble many times. It\u2019s a dream and it\u2019s so tough to do it but it\u2019s possible and the dream is still alive and I\u2019m happy for that.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow we have one trophy and on Wednesday we have to be back again if we are to get another so it\u2019s going quick.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too early to say where this ranks for me. It\u2019s not the trophy that gives me the most energy or enjoyment, it\u2019s just a statement that you have done something right.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the road to do it and that\u2019s why I love the job. It\u2019s a good day, I\u2019m happy for the boys and I\u2019m happy for the whole team around them.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt just makes us more hungry to keep on working with the things we\u2019re doin<\/em>g.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He’s relentless.<\/p>\n

Although he was quite happy with the game, and the performance, he stopped to point out he wasn’t pleased about the spat between John Guidetti and James Forrest when the latter won a penalty in the dying minutes of the game;<\/p>\n

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\u201cBoth of \u2028the players who were going to take the penalty, Leigh \u2028Griffiths and Kris Commons, were off the park.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like it was the first to the ball but I don\u2019t like that they argue about that.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is stupid. That is not the team spirit I want. We have to learn from the situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of emotion in these situations and strikers, especially, want to score goals.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, we have to put the team in front of ourselves. It is something we have to work on all the \u2028time and learn from through experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not team spirit. It is \u2028individual thinking and I don\u2019t want anything to do with that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0According to the Record,<\/em>\u00a0Guidetti\u00a0\u00a0clearly took the huff and stormed down the Hampden tunnel straight after the final whistle, although the Swede did reappear in time to pick up his medal.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

With his phone, which may actually have been the reason he went into the tunnel in the first place, as players are not allowed to take pictures during a game.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Someone else who it was easy to feel pleased for was goalkeeper Craig Gordon, as he walked around the pitch post match with his kids, just enjoying every minute of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nice to be able to do that for them.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey have stood by me and they have supported me for two whole years when I wasn\u2019t working.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was concentrating fully on getting back into football, it must have been a hard thing for them to have to deal with.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were so young they \u2028never really knew what daddy did for a living. They were a big part of my inspiration to get back to top-level football. I wanted to show them what their daddy used to do!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt means the world to me to share that moment with my girls out there on the pitch and they absolutely loved it, dancing around and picking up all the confetti. It was special for me and for my family, a moment I will never forget.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTo come from where I was, all the hard work makes it special.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAt times it might have been easier to give up, but \u2028the support I\u2019ve had to keep going, to carry on and to get to here is \u2028just brilliant.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI did take a moment or two towards the end to think of things.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the game was already won and United weren\u2019t going to get back into it, it was nice to stand at the other end of the pitch and have a look around at the fans celebrating and singing the songs.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to take it all in, that this was really happening for me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI managed to do that. I\u2019ve won a cup again and it\u2019s been a long time coming since the last one.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, at one stage, I just wanted to play a game of football again and once I managed that I realised I was capable of getting back to a high level. That\u2019s when I started to think about what is possible. But to do this in my first season back is just amazing.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first signed for Celtic,\u00a0Fraser Forster was still here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo to get in and have 40 games under my belt plus a medal in the bank is hard to contemplate.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was always the aim to get back to the best level that I possibly could. So to have done that and to already have won a trophy at Hampden and to have a medal in my pocket is more than anything I could have ever have hoped for when coming back.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true, all \u2028over again.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Goalkeeper coach Stevie Woods must have felt good as well, as his faith in the stopper has been more than justified this season. There were doubts over the big man, but they have long been removed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Dundee United manager The Rev. I.M. Jackie wasn’t happy.<\/p>\n

\"jolly\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0“I feel frustrated and disappointed, but I’m proud of how the players responded. I thought a lot of things went against us.<\/em><\/p>\n

“But we stuck to the task and went right to the end, despite the disappointments and setbacks in the game.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“I feel we should have had a penalty. It looked like a penalty. I’d like to see it again. The referee was very slow to make a decision, or not make a decision. But in Celtic’s case, he was very quick to point to the spot.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Because \u00a0it was a penalty ?<\/p>\n

“I’d like to see the challenge (by Van Dijk on Dillon) again that caused the damage to his leg to see if it was fair. Celtic ended up getting a throw-in from it. Sean has got a bad gash on his shin.<\/em><\/p>\n

“For the red card, it was Sean’s momentum and pace. I don’t think he has gone in to cause damage. But he’s given the ref a decision to make and we know what happened.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Surprisingly, no one asked him why he felt it was neccessary to play on while Dillon left the field for treatment, and even he didn’t seem to know if he was coming back on. If anyone is guilty of indecision, its Jolly Jackie.<\/p>\n

\u00a0To help clear things up, however, here is van Dijk on Dillon;<\/p>\n

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Oops. my bad. Thats Kris Commons with the Cup.<\/p>\n

Never mind, here is Dillons tackle on Izaguirre.<\/p>\n

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and here’s another picture of Kris Commons, showing how he has firmly consigned his bobble hat of a few weeks ago to the dustbin.<\/p>\n

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Dundee united midfielder John Rankin thinks he knows why his side lost. He says Celtic…<\/p>\n

\u00a0put pressure on the officials and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s merited. The officials\u2019 jobs are hard enough without putting pressure on them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It could also be that Celtic scored more goals than the Tayside men, but I could be being a little picky.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Not all of the press were in a congratulatory mood. Not surprising, but you would have thought even the most bitter of them would have nodded respectfully at Deilas achievement.<\/p>\n

Alan Patullo wins the first ever nomination for this \u00a0new prestigious Etims Press Award;<\/p>\n

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SO WE\u2019LL just slip that\u00a0How To Be An Athlete\u00a0manual quietly into the bin, shall we? Jim McLean, the former Dundee United manager, once articulated his despair at goalkeeper Hamish McAlpine\u2019s eccentric ways by claiming \u201che is the one player who single-handedly destroys everything I have thought or believed about the game\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Similarly, Scott Brown has now handed Ronny Deila, together with all other managers who worship at the altar of sports science, reason to reassess.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As Brown helped run the League Cup final for Celtic yesterday, there were clearly no ill-effects of the excesses that saw him, literally, plastered all over the front page of a tabloid on Friday. Brown even seemed to make comic reference to the stooshie by rubbing his tummy amid the celebrations at the end.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was a reference, perhaps, to the fast food nourishment he was photographed delicately eating on a kerbside on Wednesday night. A hug from Deila proved there were no hard feelings. Indeed, Brown continues to bring new meaning to being let off Scott-free. Some would argue that this extends to referees.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n

Yesterday saw another decision appear to go his way after he nudged Ryan Dow over in the box in the first-half. United players were still venting their frustration in the bowels of Hampden long after the final whistle. Brown, meanwhile, was being feted by the Celtic supporters; forgiveness already assured.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once was the time when \u201cdoing a Broonie\u201d meant standing bug-eyed in front of an identified foe with arms outstretched. Now it has come to mean something else.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Standing bug eyed in front of a hurting journalist with arms outstretched ?<\/p>\n

Now it means going on a bender in less salubrious parts of town four days before a major assignment. It means over-doing it to the extent that you are found slumped in a street before the clock has even struck midnight. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

With just four days to recover !<\/p>\n

I wish I had four days to recover every time I’m slumped on a street corner anywhere. Though to be fair, there just aren’t enough days in the week.<\/p>\n

Its hard to say whether Patullo is more annoyed by the story not breaking the bond betwen player, manager and fans, or just simply that he’s pissed off Celtic won.<\/p>\n

A combination of both, perhaps, is the answer.<\/p>\n

A thought did occur to me, as we are still on the subject of recent press coverage, that the Gerrard to Celtic nonsense in the Trinity Mirror papers wasn’t quite the usual tittle tattle associated with the fourth estate.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, a rumour was doing the rounds that one of Celtics current players had been involved in a major row with Gerrard, who, it is alleged, has some pals who have been known to punch people on the nose from time to time.<\/p>\n

This rumour was doing the rounds all over the midlands and north west of England at the time, and my own somewhat imaginative thought process turned over the possibility that it was placed yesterday to throw the concentration of one of the hoops key players. especially with the Brown scandal not actually turning out to be much of a scandal.<\/p>\n

Just a thought, mind. Theres probably nothing in it.<\/p>\n

Like theres nothing in the story, actually.<\/p>\n

Who cares ?<\/p>\n

One down, two to go.<\/p>\n

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Oh, before I forget, credit where credits due. The BBC coverage wasn’t bad, so well done to John Hartson, Kevin Gallacher and the easily recognisable Pat Nevin;<\/p>\n

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\u00a0The picture yesterday showed Stephen MacManus lifting the League cup back in 2009, after a 2-0 extra time win over Rangers. It had been so long since our last success in the competition, that the team we beat to win it are now no longer in existence.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Caption competition, before there little row yesterday, Guidetti and Forrest seemed rather close. whats going through their minds, or coming out of their mouths here ?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

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