Deila is not at fault for Celtic’s European failure

Ronny Deila is trying to change the club and its philosophy. So far, it has not worked out, but the reason for that lies much higher up the pecking order.

First of all, Deila still needs more time to implement his philosophy. He also needs better players if Celtic want to be successful now, but, if you saw Chris Sutton’s interview with Deila before the game, you know that won’t happen. He knows he can’t and won’t get Champions league level players.

Instead, it’s his job to take what he is given and work with it and make the players better. He’s shown he can do that with players that can develop and have potential, Bitton, Janko, Rogic, Griffiths and Tierney are a few examples of that. They’ve gotten better under Deila’s leadership and the Norwegian even saved Bitton’s career at Celtic and instigated him into signing a new contract earlier this week.

What Deila is trying to do is the right thing. He wants to modernise Celtic, change the philosophy forever and grow a modern football club – all with very little resources. He wants to copy what Ajax have, which is a bit far-fetched, given their global recognition and development of some of the most technically gifted players over the years. But at least he is giving us a clear vision of where he would like Celtic to be.

Recruitment can and must be better as well. Getting a loanee from Manchester United is not a sign of good recruitment. I did say I would start Blackett if Simunovic wasn’t fit enough, in hindsight, there’s no question I would choose Efe Ambrose. That tells me we need another centre-back in January.

So, what do we need to do as fans? We need to take the good times with the bad times. It’s not even bad, but we’ve grown used to being competitive in Europe in since the turn of the century and most recently under Neil Lennon. It’s three years tomorrow since we beat Barcelona 2-1 at Paradise, however, it seems like we are supporting a different club. And I think we are.

We are supporting a club that Deila is trying to change, for better or worse that’s up to your point of view. It takes a lot of time and the right people to get it done. Imagine if Manchester United sacked Alex Ferguson in 1990. I’m not saying Deila will emulate Ferguson’s success, or the longevity of his reign, but he is trying to make a cultural change and shift on a similar level.

I think a complete overhaul is needed at the club. Starting with Deila’s backroom staff. John Collins and John Kennedy were initially brought in to help Deila get to grips with life at Celtic, but also let Lawwell and Desmond flex their muscles in the dressing room. If this current team is to progress to where I believe it can under Deila, he needs his own back-room staff. People he knows and can trust; those that have a similar vision and understanding.

For me, John Kennedy is the first person that should go, closely followed by John Collins. Between the two of them they have done nothing at the level Celtic fans aspire to be at. Deila isn’t at the top-level either, but he has the drive and nous to take us there. Collins and Kennedy have shown ineptitude for the job they hold. It’s not like Celtic can attract Mourinho or Klopp anyway.

Dermot Desmond bleeds the club dry of money and investment, while turning over a pre-tax profit. It’s great business, but it’s not how to run a football club. If Celtic can break even or close to that, I wouldn’t question Desmond because we know what happens when a club isn’t run properly. But in  February 2014, Celtic posted a pre-tax profit or £21.3 million. Surely there’s room for investment with so much money on the table. Since then Celtic pre-tax profit of over £6 million in February loss of £3.95 million in September. It doesn’t take a mathematician to realise the money being made available to Deila is not maximised to help bring success.

Not to mention the fact that we lose one of our key players every year now. Victor Wanyama, Fraser Forster and Virgil van Dijk all had a massive role in the team, and were subsequently sold. Before that, Ki, Ledley, Hooper were all sold on to balance the books. Selling your best and most gifted footballers is not a winning formula.

Investing in the correct areas is also crucial. I’ve backed all the signings that have come in this summer except Nadir Ciftci, but there’s more I’m starting to question. Tyler Blackett was a waste in my opinion and we should simply terminate his loan from Manchester United now. Nadir Ciftci should never have been signed, and instead someone like Simon Zoller or Jonathan Kodjia should have been bought.

I have also begun to question the signing of Dedryck Boyata. He didn’t get many games for Manchester City, which I’m not too surprised about, but even when he went on loan to clubs, he struggled to live up to the hype around him as a 19-year-old.

The lack of minutes on the field has transcended into a player that isn’t comfortable on the ball and mistake-prone. He is still a rough diamond, a very rough one at that, but if Deila can make Denayer a solid defender in a few months, he can hopefully do the same with Boyata, although it may take longer looking at his current demeanor on the field.

One thing is certain in my eyes, Deila must be allowed to have another crack at getting Celtic into the Champions League. There’s no question he’s been suspect in Europe, but he will only learn with experience, and any future manager we get will have less European experience than him in their managerial career.

For now, at least, I feel we need to stick with Deila, and who knows, we could get out of this group and into the last-32. It is unlikely at this stage, but not impossible, and I won’t stop believing until it’s mathematically impossible.

Domestically, a treble is the only option and nothing less will do. The cup competitions are more difficult because over 90 minutes Celtic can have a poor game or be subject to some abject officiating, but we must be able to overcome that – one way or another. We have to make our own luck, and failure to win the domestic treble would be a bigger non-success story than progressing in the Europa League.

We as fans supported Celtic through the good times, and now we must endure the not so good times in Europe.