RONNY DEILA reckons his Bhoys are back on song, despite a 2-2 draw against Hearts.
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| Celtic boss Ronny Deila reckons Celtic are on the up despite Hearts' late equaliser |
Osman Sow’s deflected strike in stoppage time earned the Jambos a point just when it looked as if Celtic would get a precious win to move three points clear of Aberdeen in the title race with a game in hand.
But even though the draw means the Hoops have leaked seven points in their last five games to give the Dons hope, Deila was thrilled to see the battling spirit back in a team that had gone down meekly to Motherwell eight days earlier.
After twice going ahead through Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic and failing to see out the win, Deila is still confident that there was enough guts on show at Tynecastle to prove his team’s quality will count in the end.
The Celtic boss said: “We were in control but there’s always going to be some stress when you are 2-1 up in that kind of atmosphere.
“Sometimes you need to give credit to an opponent when you see strikes like that. That was the hit of the year. There might have been a slight deflection but Craig Gordon had no chance. It was an unbelievable goal.
“But it was a good performance. There was a good team spirit. I was disappointed against Motherwell, there was very little energy and too much individualism and players playing for themselves rather than the team.
“Today, I got my old team back again. We were hard working, well organised and played it forward with quick passing. That’s the way I want to see my team and we need to produce again on Wednesday [at Dundee].
“The situation is very hard as a manager because the pressure from outside is so great. If I use all my frustration on the players it will make it even worse.
“The important thing is seeing energy, players enjoying their football and willing to fight for each other. When you coach clubs like this it’s important to allow players to rest as the pressure is high.
“You can see how tough it is to cope with everything so the most important thing is to remain calm as a manager and as a club. I think we did that but it’s not over. There’s a long way to go and we need to keep fighting. I told them I was not happy after Motherwell but you can’t do anything after it’s done.
“You need to get a performance days later and we got a good response against Hearts. We have quality in this squad but you win through team effort and hard work, then the quality will shine through.”
Celtic took the lead through Bitton before Sam Nicholson’s equaliser. Rogic then netted a scorcher only to have his thunder stolen by Sow right at the death.
Rogic said: “We were frustrated to concede so late from a deflection. It feels more like a loss than anything but we will try to take the positives from the game. But we are not happy to take a point, I think that is pretty clear.”
Celtic travel to Dens Park on Wednesday but are unlikely to have Leigh Griffiths (calf) back for the clash with his old team.
Dedryck Boyata (hamstring) and Stuart Armstrong (back) both hobbled off in the first half against Hearts and are also unlikely to make the trip.
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