Will Ronny Deila stay at Celtic without winning the treble?

There have been strange moments at Parkhead this season. The European defeats, coupled with the disappearance of the Ronny Roar, first surprised the supporters taking their seats in the stadium. However, the latest twist in the tale came in Saturday’s match against Partick Thistle where fans openly booed the substitution of Tom Rogic as well as many waving their phones in the air, a sure-fire sign that they are starting to become frustrated.

With their Scottish Cup fourth round match against Stranraer at the weekend, Ronny Deila can no longer hide by saying that they haven’t played in all their competitions, and the Celtic faithful will no doubt be looking for a dominant victory to ease their nerves. If Celtic try and play a weakened side and scrape into the next round or flirt with a replay or a loss, the fans will only be more irritated.

Many people wouldn’t know why Deila is under pressure. He is top of the league, with a game in hand, and is in all competitions apart from Europe, where Celtic displayed some good moments and scored plenty of goals, only to see their leads capitulate due to defensive errors.

However, many have tipped Celtic to win the treble whilst their former foe Rangers left the Premiership, and this has alluded the Hoops so far in the last three seasons.

Indeed, many would think that if Celtic don’t win a treble this season, with no disrespect to the other teams in Scottish football such as St Johnstone or Inverness who have won the Scottish Cup in the past, it would be deemed as a failure.

As well as this, Rangers (old or new we don’t really care) could be coming back to the top flight, and Hibernian or Falkirk could also return. Hearts won the Championship last season and have already held Celtic to draws on two occasions – and are holding their own sitting third in the table at this stage in the season.

But what could Deila do to bring delight back to the fans?

Many believe that if he changed formation from his 4-2-3-1 formation, Celtic may begin to play more exciting football. Perhaps if Leigh Griffiths had a strike partner up front, and Celtic didn’t have to wholly rely on his goalscoring their attack would look more impressive. However, Celtic only have Nadir Ciftci and Carlton Cole to pick from, with Anthony Stokes still looking to impress Deila after his recent suspension and no doubt waiting patiently for a chance.

Fans may also believe that youngsters should be given a chance in the team. The supporters have already warmed to 18-year-old Kieran Tierney after a series of good performances, and the younger players in the squad such as Scott Allan, Aidan Nesbitt and Ryan Christie along with other players in the youth team could potentially help out and show the same fight Tierney currently is on the left side of defence. In Christie’s case, however, it will be about getting match fit first before being given the chance to play in a Hoops jersey.

As well as this, many will ask whether is a new defender needed in January after conceding a number of careless goals. With Jozo Simunovic being out injured at the start of this Celtic career and Dedryck Boyata now out with a hamstring injury, many will be worried at their back line, especially with Tyler Blackett seemingly now in the same place where they hide Derk Boerrigter and Anthony Stokes at Lennoxtown.

However, football is ultimately a results business and these changes have to be coupled with changes in their results. One scrappy win at home since October is a terrible run of form for the champions and the fans will be looking for a run of impressive victories to convince them of glory come the end of the season.