VOTING for the Ladbrokes Premiership Manager of Month perhaps ended before Celtic’s ignominious Scottish League Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Ross County, but there should still have been no surprise that Ronny Deila picked up the award for his team’s superb league form.
Some were calling for his head after Sunday’s defeat, but while Deila can no longer speak of the treble, he is concentrating fully on the double, the bigger part of which Celtic can take a big step towards securing if they beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie in the league tonight.
The stats stack up against the home side if they lose: they will be nine points behind and the chasm in goal difference is massive, so victory is their only real aim. Manager Derek McInnes said as much yesterday: “It’s always about the win.
“We’ve only lost four games in the league this season, we’re on a strong unbeaten run at the moment in the league – the second run we’ve put together this season and we want to try to make sure it continues.
“Of course we see the importance of three points. We enjoy playing at home and there’s nothing to be frightened of. We are keen for the game to take place and we’ll be ready for it when it comes round.
“Celtic are always the toughest challenge for us. For any team in the league, it’s the toughest fixture, but we realise it’s also the fixture that gives us the opportunity to win against them and inflict some damage on them.
“You always have to try to take those opportunities against teams round about you. We’ve beaten Hearts twice this season in the league. We’ve beaten Celtic too, and that’s something we hope to do again.”
Deila has the luxury of knowing a draw might be sufficient to stymie Aberdeen’s challenge after Celtic won all four of their league games last month prior to Sunday’s disappointment, including an 8-1 thrashing of Hamilton Accies.
Speaking to the media after being presented with his award, Deila said: “The first 30 days were very good. We were disappointed, of course, after the weekend, but the team have improved a lot lately and we’ve had a lot of good performances. This is an award for the whole group and I’m delighted about that.
“It happens that you get awards after having a rough time, but in the league we have been good. We have played in some great games and scored a lot of goals lately so I’m very happy with that.”
With Kris Commons not yet fit and Croatian defender Jozo Simunovic out for six weeks with a knee injury, Deila insisted he was satisfied with Celtic’s business in the transfer window.
Ryan Christie is back from his loan deal at Inverness; Danish defender Erik Sviatchenko, who joined on a four-and-a-half deal’ made his debut as a sub on Sunday; Colin Kazim-Richards arrived from Feyenoord; and Manchester City tenager Patrick Roberts signed an 18-month loan deal Deila said: “I’m very happy with the window. Patrick is an exceptional talent and we have him for a longer period, so we can really work with him.
“Colin is an experienced player who can be a leader in the group. We know he has ability. He’s very physical and he’s very strong at holding the ball up. He’s also a personality. At Feyenoord, he was used to playing at a team with a lot of young players and being a leader. We feel he will suit the style of play here and in the league and that he will also make an impact in Europe.
McInnes was not quite so lucky with his attempts during the window. He said: “We targeted two players in light of the injuries, a midfielder and a different option at centre-forward. We got one but not the other.
“We tried extremely hard to get Greg Tansey from Inverness and unfortunately we didn’t. Thankfully we managed to get Simon Church agreed with MK Dons. I think he brings real pedigree and I think there is a real enthusiasm to be here which is very important.”
McInnes revealed winger Jonny Hayes was bitten by a dog last week but will be fit to face Celtic. The manager said: “It was a nasty bite and took a few stitches. It affected his training but thankfully he will be fine for the Celtic game.”
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