Deila explains Rogic and Simunovic half-time substitutions

Celtic manager Ronny Deila has spoken of his delight after the Parkhead club thrashed Hamilton 8-1 in the Scottish Premiership, and moved six points clear at the top of the table.

A hat-trick from in-form Leigh Griffiths, bringing his tally up to 27 for the season, along with goals from Mikael Lustig, Nir Bitton, Tom Rogic, James Forrest and Callum McGregor gave fans a warm embrace on a bitterly cold Glasgow night.

After the match Deila spoke to the media at Celtic Park, mentioning how ecstatic he was with his players’ display.

He said, as per the official website:

It was a fantastic night, a very good performance. I’m very pleased by the performance from the boys. [It’s] always hard to keep up the tempo and intensity when you are 3-0 up after 10 minutes but we did that very well.

We looked very sharp. In training we have looked better and better recently. Tonight, you could see what tempo we can play at. We played a lot of games before Christmas and [there was] a lot of emotions, happy and bad days. After Christmas we have had some good weeks’ training and been able to rest players a bit and you can see more energy in [the] team.

We deserved it tonight. We could have got so much more as we had so many chances. You always want games like this and I’m very pleased. First of all, it’s three points. We want to score as many as possible and we have to be happy with eight.

Deila reckons the result is the largest scoreline of his managerial career so far, but urged caution in thinking they have a right to win future matches.

I think so, [I] can’t remember winning by more. It’s one game and we need to know why we were good and put on the same performance on Saturday as it will be a tough game as well. I feel freshness in the group. I see smiles and people are looking forward to games which is very important.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the team, with some injury concerns forcing half-time substitutions. Jozo Simunovic and Tom Rogic both went off, leaving Efe Ambrose as the only recognised centre-back on the field.

Tom twisted his ankle but [I] don’t think it’s a big thing and hopefully he is ready for Saturday. Jozo was a precaution as he was feeling his hamstring, but nothing happened.

Celtic fans will be pleased with the result, which means that the team have scored 12 goals in their last two games ahead of their next league match against St Johnstone on Saturday and the important League Cup semi-final against Ross County at the end of the month.