RONNY DEILA, the Celtic manager, last night admitted the club would not break their strict transfer policy this summer and only prolonged Champions League success was going to bring back the days of £6m fees being spent on any one player.

 

Addressing the media for the first time since the end of last season, the Norwegian painted a realistic picture of where the club are in terms of what level they will be shopping at during this transfer window, although he did stress his happiness with present squad.

Dedryck Boyata has been signed for £1.5million and the club expect to make at least two more additions before the end of August but until they can count on extra revenue from the group stages, the days of plundering English Premier League clubs, as Martin O'Neill frequently did, were for the moment consigned to the history books.

Asked whether this would be a summer when Celtic would spend big, Deila said: "No, not now. That is too much money. A £5-£6milion move, I don't think that will happen. Not this year.

"But if we get into the Champions League and earn money over a period of time, then of course things can be changed. Now it is about finding the right player in the category that we can afford.

"It's not just the £6m we are talking about. What kind of salary is that player going to have? That would ruin the whole structure of the club. There has to be correlation between the salary and transfer fee."

Celtic's players, bar the internationals, reported back for training yesterday with the rest joining them early next week ahead of a series of friendly matches at St Mirren Park ahead of their Champions League qualifier with FC Stjarnan of Iceland.

And while it will be more or less the same faces who will take part in that first vital match at Celtic Park, the manager will not lose any sleep if nobody else comes in between now and then.

"I am very happy with the squad," said Deila. "We have a big squad and one that knows what is expected. They are in good shape and ready for the qualifiers. The players that won the league and had a good season will also be the most important players going into the games.

"I feel we have a good platform. Do I expect to strengthen? You never know. My message is that the most important thing is consistency. You will never see five, six or seven signings by Celtic this year. I don't think that would be right.

"We need to make the squad smaller. If we do add players then they have to be those who will make a difference, or young players we can develop over

"I am happy to get Boyata. He was my priority signing, the player we always wanted. Again, I would rather have one and save energy and money, rather than just taking in players. They would need to be quality.

"And it is hard to find players better than we already have. We are looking but, again, to keep players is the most important thing. He would need to be a first team player, not just someone to add to the squad."

Jelle Vossen of Genk is a player Delia admires and he admitted that another striker was a target.

"We have said all the time that we are looking for different options up-front," said the Celtic manager. "But then the whole of Europe is chasing strikers. We are satisfied that we have good strikers in the squad. If we can a striker than can make a difference and affordable, then we will look at it."

Deila also indicated that he would be willing to wait until the very end of August, when Celtic's European fate will be known, before moving again into the transfer marker.

However, Virgil van Dijk will not be allowed to leave at least until after the final qualifier is played. If Celtic do fall short then it could be in the club's interest to cash in on the Dutchman.

"Virgil van Dijk is the player everyone sees in Scotland, but in Europe he still hasn't shown that top level and now these games are coming up again he is so focused to show that and that will help him and it will help us," said Deila.