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| Deila's job has been under pressure after defeats in Europe |
CELTIC boss Ronny Deila has thanked chairman Ian Bankier and chief executive Peter Lawwell for publicly backing him.
Bankier and Lawwell addressed shareholders at the club’s AGM and made it clear Deila was at Parkhead for the long haul – despite ropey European results.
The Norwegian has always maintained that his job did not hinge on this season’s Euro efforts, and yesterday his superiors hammered home that message.
Deila believes the public endorsement of his standpoint will give him the freedom to get on with the task of rebuilding Celtic.
He said: “It’s always important to hear, but it was not a big surprise for me as I talk to Peter every day.
“But it’s nice to hear in public and important for the fans as well. It’s great to meet people and get information across so they understand what we are doing and how we are thinking. It brings people closer.
“I have never seen anything like this AGM in Norway. Maybe a couple of clubs have something similar but nothing on this scale.
“I am sitting there and seeing so many people care about Celtic and just how big this club is and how much it means to people.
“It just makes you determined to bring them success. There is always a responsibility.
“You need to be strong mentally to be a player or manager at Celtic. It’s a high-pressure position and unbelievably challenging.
“At the same time it’s hugely enjoyable. If you get this right, it will be huge.”
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| The board have given Deila their backing publicly, although privately this has not surprised him |
With fans unhappy about a second successive season under Deila without Champions League football and with the team sitting bottom of their Europa League group, there were always going to be questions asked about the manager’s role.
But both Bankier and Lawwell made it crystal clear that Deila will get time.
Bankier said: “This year we are ahead in the league, but we have been disappointed by two adverse results in Europe.
“That doesn’t put the club in crisis, it doesn’t affect our faith and confidence in the manager.
“His job is to develop. We can’t buy success, we need to develop what we have and he has great talent for that. All of that is a long-term project. As far as I’m concerned, and I’m speaking also for the board members, we are on course.”
Lawwell added: “Ronny is a developer, he is a builder, he is a creator of players and teams. And that takes time.
“I don’t think you can have a knee-jerk reaction to something that has happened over two or three games.
“We tend to look after our people here at Celtic and we look after the manager in particular and give them time to progress.”
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