Fan opinion split as Deila says Kris Commons was disrespectful

Ronny Deila has branded the reaction of Kris Commons unacceptable after he was substituted during the defeat to Molde in the Europa League.

Commons, who had scored in the second-half, gave Celtic a lifeline and a chance to get something from the game, was furious at being substituted and when he was making his way over to the bench, venting his anger at the Celtic coaching staff.

Speaking after the game, as quoted by BBC Sport, Deila said:

That’s something we can’t have.

We are a team. I understand that players can be disappointed at being taken off, but to show it in that way, it’s not how we want to have it in Celtic.

We are one team and it’s not about one player. It’s very disrespectful to everyone else. That’s unacceptable.

I’ve spoken to him, of course. This is not about punishing people, it’s about understanding and about talking about how we react and how we behave.

However, Ronny Deila also insisted that Commons is an important part of the team and that he was withdrawn for tactical reasons.

Today we wanted to have two strikers on and then we needed also more balance in the midfield because you saw that, every time they got the ball, they counter-attacked us, so that was the decision.

Of course, it’s a lot of games coming and Kris is going to be important in them as well.

It was a terrible night for Celtic without Commons’ antics, as they fell to the bottom of their Europa League group following a 3-1 defeat to Molde. Celtic now face an incredibly tough challenge to qualify from a group in their remaining games against Molde, Fenerbahce and Ajax.