Deila blasts money-driven witch-hunt

Ronny Deila has hit back at those who say his job is on the line and believes people are overreacting to their recent form.

Celtic haven’t won at home in their last four games in all competitions, but the Norwegian says people need to look at the bigger picture.

The Hoops lost for the first time in the league since September and are one point clear at the top of the table with a game in hand.

They also face Ross County in the Scottish League Cup semi-final and have a Scottish Cup tie against Stranraer to look forward to on January 10th.

After a poor European campaign the first domestic treble since 2001 is still a possibility.

So it’s no wonder Deila is bemused by the recent outcry for him to be sacked.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of this weekend’s game away to Hearts, Deila said:

There are always ups, very high and very low, it’s never something in between.

But if you see the overall situation when you are leading the league, into everything [League Cup and Scottish Cup] then I cannot understand everything is so unbelievably bad.

Deila believes there is one driving matter behind the witch-hunt against him.

It’s about getting clicks on the internet and it’s about selling newspapers, because it is unbelievable.

There are hundreds of media and everybody needs a story and everybody gets caught into this and it affects everything.

He also added it is doing nothing to help matter son the field for his team.

It affects the players, it affects the club and we need to stay calm inside. That is the most important thing.

We need to be together and that’s what I feel. I feel united with the players and with the staff and the people in the club.

Yes we have challenges that we need to do better but when we stay united and are going forward then we can do it.

Getting back to form quickly will be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, including Deila, who admitted the previous two performances haven’t been up to the level required.

We have not played well in the last two games, but every team goes through periods like this.

You have to see the whole picture. We hadn’t lost in the league since September, now we have to get back on track and we have been very good at bouncing back from a bad result in the past.

Celtic’s next game is this as Celtic visit Tynecastle to face Hearts for a second time this season. They met earlier in the League Cup quarter-final and won 2-1, and another win will be required this Sunday.