Win lose or draw Deila must stay

I still believe Ronny Deila is the man for Celtic, and here’s why.

(Don’t worry the title isn’t serious. More so, it points at the fact we don’t lose very often.)

Since when was it a requirement to win the domestic treble and advance in European football to keep your job at Celtic? Fans demand too much, and I feel if it were a club legend in place, the mood would be very, very different. Just imagine Henrik Larsson in the position that Deila is in right now. Fans would be more than happy.

We can’t demand all we had and more a few years ago during a rebuilding period. In 2012, Lennon assembled a team able to reach the last-16 of the Champions League and won the league and cup double. That team is no longer there and Deila is rebuilding a new one with significantly less funding.

That is close to the pinnacle of what Celtic can achieve. The pinnacle would include the Scottish League Cup. And you would be foolish to think otherwise or that we deserve it as loyal fan’ or our club history demands we succeed. The sense of entitlement is a bad trait to have as a football fan, and will always leave you bitterly disappointed. Many clubs have an illustrious history in Europe and are now minnows – Nottingham Forrest and Aston Villa are two examples of that.

The greatest Celtic side ever had their moments as well, losing twice to Dundee United. It’s not uncommon to lose a game of football.

One thing you can’t deny about Deila is his philosophy. He’s looking to bring through a young group of players and using our academy as well. Kieran Tierney and Aidan Nesbitt are two players that will make the leap from the academy to the first-team, thanks in part to the work Deila has done.

It’s up to fans if they decide to stick by the team going through a rocky patch. Both Milan clubs have faced a torrid time in recent years, and Celtic are nowhere near close to that level of collapse.

Say what you like about the Scottish competition, Celtic are top of the table with a game in hand, they are in the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup and on course for their first domestic treble since 2001. But that isn’t enough for some.

There are two stats, which people on either side of the fence can use to facilitate their argument about whether he should go, or not. The number of people wanting the Norwegian out is increasing and four games without a win at home is worrying. But, it’s also our first defeat in 13 domestic games and just our second defeat of the season domestically.

Celtic under Deila have underperformed in Europe in comparison to the standards Lennon set. They failed to win a single group game this season, but Deila has the players focussed and 16 wins following a European game since he took over is a testament to that.

Improvement is need, but where can we go from here?

Celtic will go back to where we ended up when Neil Lennon decided to move on elsewhere. The deadwood is still at the club and there is no clear identity or future for the team. At a time when we can’t compete financially with the money rich south, it’s time to build and grow our own players. And there’s already someone in place to do that.

One tweet that made me laugh yesterday was this one and summed up some people who are supposedly long-time supporters.

https://twitter.com/HoopsmanBrian/status/678698180825993218

Anyone remember the early 90’s and 1994 in particular? Those were dark days. When off-field matters were at the forefront of everyone’s mind. A loss to Motherwell in a 38 game season is an anomaly on the road to recovery.

A recovery Ronny Deila is willing to do when many others will just add to the problem.

It’s never perfect and it’s most certainly a bumpy ride at times supporting Celtic. But that’s the joy about it. You take the good with the not so good and you learn.

If we sack Deila the rebuilding process starts again. Maybe we ought to treat Deila like every manager before him and then we might just do that.