Deila: We have to earn respect

The £1.5 million summer signing from Dundee United was again preferred to last season’s top scorer Leigh Griffiths for the second-leg of the Hoops’ Champions League qualifier against Stjarnan on Wednesday night.

“I would rate them as a good football team, I would say definitely Champions League standard”. They beat Twente Enschede in the Europa League qualifiers and did well in the Europa League group as well.

“But he is looking for other options as well and we will see what is happening with that”. It’s a hard draw but you can’t think like that.

Deila has studied the Azerbaijanis thoroughly and will take everything into consideration before coming up with his final plan. There’s no household names in their team, that’s for sure, but they have a few Brazilians and internationals who are very good football players. We just have to be good at planning and be aware of everything. “That is what will be important going into the game”. “We know we’ll have to be focused for 90 minutes, total concentration, because at this level if you make a mistake you get punished”. We will have to play well to get through.

Deila hopes the fact Qarabag face a lengthy journey themselves not long after a return trip from Montenegro will have a detrimental effect on them. What I can say is they are very well organised tactically.

Deila is anticipating a hard test against Qarabag this evening but insists the time has come for his players to make home advantage count on a consistent basis. “We are learning more about them as the days go on”.

The Dutch centre-half has apparently been a “wantaway” player at Parkhead since manager Ronny Deila took over ahead of the start of last season.

Griffiths, who scored a hat-trick in the weekend’s friendly win over Eibar in Spain, came off the bench to grab the third goal with two minutes remaining to remind Deila of his talents.

Nadir Ciftci has missed a couple of chances, although Celtic have looked a better team when the two have played together.

Reacting to the slipping of that crown following dismal home defeats to Maribor, Red Bull Salzburg, AC Milan and Juventus in recent years, however, Deila said: ‘It’s at Celtic Park, our castle.

“That’s team spirit and putting the team in front of yourself”.

But the Celtic boss reckons there are no similarities from a year ago when it comes to him and his own team. I think Nadir has qualities to drop more into the spaces and be a link player and Leigh can be the threat.

‘We did play at Murrayfield last year and it is better at home – but I won’t use that as an excuse.’. “We will have a lot of them tomorrow”, he added.