{"id":7444,"date":"2015-07-11T11:11:25","date_gmt":"2015-07-11T10:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=7444"},"modified":"2015-07-11T11:11:25","modified_gmt":"2015-07-11T10:11:25","slug":"celtic-diary-saturday-july-11-celts-looking-sharper-as-stjarnan-stumble-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=7444","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Saturday July 11: Celts Looking Sharper As Stjarnan Stumble Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gary Mackay Steven continued his impressive pre season with the winning goal against Real Sociedad in Paisley last night. Celtic won 1-0 , but it’s not the result that’s important, although it’s nice to get a win.<\/p>\n

The team looked sharper, after a dodgy opening spell, and worked harder for each other, which, given the fact that we are only a few days away from the first qualifier, was a huge relief.<\/p>\n

Nir Biton returned to the side, and as he became more settled, so did Celtic. Leigh Grifiths , as usual , worked his socks off, and was unlucky not to score one of those goals you replay on You Tube when you’re drunk. Dispossessing a Real defender, he did a delightful little twist before making the space to hit a low shot off the post, which sadly for him , meant that new signing Nadir ciftci got all the headlines, after the ball rolled down the substitutes leg into the path of Mackay Steven to win the game.<\/p>\n

Griffiths, though, despite what you might read in the paper, is certain to start against Stjarnan. After all, he’s been given the squad number nine shirt, which is usually an indicator of what the manager thinks of you, and captain Scott Brown was quick enough, on twitter, to recognise the significance;<\/p>\n

@leighgriffiths28 wow number 9 well done weeman<\/span><\/p>\n

Ciftci looked sharp, and it was good to see a player who can put himself about a bit in the team, as Real, like Dukla and Den Bosch before them, were a little enthusuastic in their tackling. Something we may need to be aware of in the next few weeks, because it seems that when beaten with pace, which Celtic possess in abundance, the fouls will be a plenty.<\/p>\n

If he stays the full season, might be worth a punt on van Dijk to score more than ten goals. Failing that, Mulgrew.<\/p>\n

Apart from those two, Celtic don’t have a dead ball specialist, and it might be worth teaching one or two how to place a free kick.<\/p>\n

After the game, Ronny Deila seemed quite pleased with the way it had gone. Well, sort of;<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a controlled game,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe last game was wild but this game was more balanced and played more defensively. As a team, we were compact.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOffensively we started without confidence but we grew throughout the game and in the end we created the chances that we needed to win. So I\u2019m happy with the performance.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more sharpness but that\u2019ll come on Wednesday.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

He was also a little more measured about Ciftci than the papers seem to be;<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy to get Ciftci in. He showed today what he can add to the team. He\u2019s a good football player and he\u2019s going to be an important player for us.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working on the same things all the time and we just need to do it quicker. That is why it\u2019s good to meet a good team and we get a good tempo.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to defend as well as we did last season and it was much more controlled.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Nir Bitton\u2019s first game as well and Mikael Lustig hadn\u2019t played for five months and now he\u2019s played three games in a row, so he needs time to get to his top level.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to make us even stronger. We have things we can do from the bench and we have a strong squad and everyone is looking forward to the games.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

From those words spoken by Deila, the Record took this;<\/p>\n

RONNY DEILA last night insisted\u00a0<\/span>Nadir Ciftci<\/a>\u00a0is in the running for a European start after catching the eye in last night\u2019s 1-0 friendly win over Real Sociedad.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A fairly innocuous statement at first glance, but on the face of it, he’s merely stating the obvious, but somehow it feels more like there is an attempt here to destabilise Griffiths.<\/p>\n

That may be my own paranoia, but then again, we have seen that where the press is concerned, we probably aren’t paranoid enough.<\/p>\n

The Evening Times went a little further, even adding a photograph which implies that last nights substitution has wider implications:<\/p>\n

Nadir Ciftci put himself in line for a start in Celtic’s Champions League qualifier against Stjarnan next week with an impressive debut performance against Real Sociedad.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Nadir<\/p>\n

Then again, you have to question the veracity of anything they say;<\/p>\n

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