CELTIC skipper Scott Brown has taken a swipe at former Parkhead striker Andy Walker.

The Sky TV pundit claimed that Ronny Deila should be sacked in the aftermath of the 2-1 defeat at Pittodrie on Wednesday night, but Brown has hit back at the former Hoops player.

“Whatever he says nobody really takes heart of it anyway, because all he does is criticise Celtic for being a former player,” said Brown. “You don't see other ex pros doing that about their teams so his opinions don't really count.”

Meanwhile, Ronny Deila has maintained that the most important aspect for him now is to lead calmly as he attempts to weather this latest storm at the club.

The Norwegian has admitted to some frustration at recent performances and results, but he is reluctant to allow his emotions to get the better of him.

“Sometimes it can be right, but not all the time,” he said. “If you do that too many times it loses impact. It’s like my mother shouting at me all the time.

“In the end I just stop listening. It’s ‘yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say….’

“Leadership is about being calm, especially in this type of situation. I don’t want to lose my head and be angry, it doesn’t solve anything.

“You have to be respectful of people and talk honestly and I’ll continue to do that but it’s hard to answer the same questions every three days when we talk about progress. I’m not a magician, I need a little more time.”

And Deila remains positive that he has the support of Celtic chief executive, Peter Lawwell. The duo are in regular dialogue and while Deila was reluctant to reveal the details of their conversations, he stands firm in his belief that he has the backing of the board.

“Peter is an important man. I talk with him a lot,” he said. “I talk also with the people I have around me, my staff. Without people to reflect on things with it’s hard to make any progress.

“Peter has lots of experience and provides safety for a manager. It’s so important that the board and everybody are working together.

“If there are going be conflicts then it’s harder to believe in what you are doing and stay on the right track. Everybody needs to feel trusted and loved. Every person needs that. That’s what the best organisations are doing right now.

“Peter is understanding of my situation all the time. He knows Celtic because he has been here so many years. He is very experienced and a very strong and intelligent man. We are honest with each other and that’s what’s important. That’s a positive.

“I also speak with Dermot often. He is an intelligent man as well and knows what business is about and how football works.

“We have conversations to understand what page we are on. How I am thinking, how he is thinking. That has been good all the time.”

This season has seen a division among the Celtic support in terms of the support that Deila has enjoyed, with a significant number of the Hoops fans frustrated at the apparent lack of progress within the side.

The concession of cheap goals has been particularly costly for the club, particularly on the European front, but the frustration lies also in the fact that it has been like groundhog day with the same goal lost over and over again.

The Celtic defence has looked uneasy throughout this campaign, something that Deila has accepted.

“It is about consistency,” he said. “You can’t replace players just like. We had a strong team. We were very strong up to the Malmo game. We looked very good the whole season before it and then after that we have lost a couple of players and then we had some injuries in defence which meant it was a bit in it and that has been a major problem, that we have conceded too many goals and too easily.

“ Offensively, we have scored more than we did last year and we scored also in Europe. It is the defence where we were stronger last year.

“I think I have done very good things but there are things I could do better as well. I think we have played some very good football here, we have scored a lot of goals. I think last season we had a run in this league where we conceded less than in the history of Scottish football. When we were playing in Europe last year we had some good games as well and did some good things. This year the qualification up until the last Malmo game was OK, something I can look myself in the mirror with.

“ In the Europa League group stages there are things that we should have done better and that is the most irritating for me. Here, domestically, I think we have won a lot of games and we are looking to continue to get over 90 points. I don’t think that is a bad season. If you see the whole big picture there are a lot of positive things but I am the first one to say that there are things I could have done better. “