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Norwegian Ronny Deila was perhaps a surprising choice to take over from Neil Lennon as Celtic manager in 2014.
He had won the title in Norway in 2013 as Strømsgodset boss, but the Celtic manager’s role was far more high-pressured.
Deila’s time as Celtic boss got off to an interesting start, as the Hoops were heavily defeated by Legia Warsaw in the Champions League qualifiers, but were given a reprieve after Legia fielded an illegible player. The Bhoys then lost to Maribor, and dropped into the Europa League.
The Hoops did improve after this difficult start, and eventually won a league and League Cup double. Some of the highlights of the season were the 2-0 win over Rangers in the League Cup semi-final, and the epic 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the last 32 of the Europa League.
Deila should really have been given the chance to win the domestic treble, but the Hoops were robbed by a poor refereeing decision in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Inverness.
Still, the first season was promising, and hopes were high that the Bhoys would kick on in the 2015/16 season. Sadly it wasn’t to be the case, and the season turned out to be Deila’s last as Celtic boss.
Once more the Bhoys failed to reach the Champions League group stages, losing to Malmo, and the Europa League campaign was a flop, as the Bhoys finished bottom of the group.
Worse was to follow in the cups, as Celtic excited to Ross County and Rangers. The defeat to Rangers was too much for the club, and it was announced that Deila and assistant John Collins would leave the club at the end of the season.
Despite the poor results in Europe and in the cups, Deila once more won the league in his second season as Hoops manager. When all is said and done, he helped Celtic win two titles as manager, and that is something that he should be proud of.
Deila is still in the game, and at the time of writing is currently manager of MLS side New York City FC, where he recently won the MLS Cup.
It could be said that perhaps the Celtic job was too big for Ronny Deila, but he can still be proud of what he achieved in his two years at the club.
He got Celtic playing some good football, and some of the performances in his first season as manager were very impressive.
Deila brought some good players into his team, making the likes of Stuart Armstrong and Kieran Tierney first-team regulars.
He also brought the best out of Leigh Griffiths too, who scored his most goals in a season under Deila and was named as Scottish football’s player of the year.
Deila might have had some bad moments as Celtic manager, but that shouldn’t take away from the two titles that he won as manager. If he ever returns to Celtic Park and is presented to the support he would no doubt receive an ovation from the support, and rightfully so.
