RONNY Deila has no problems maintaining discipline at Celtic - despite Anthony Stokes becoming the latest Parkhead player to publicly clash with him in a high-profile incident at the weekend.

Stokes incurred the wrath of his manager after Tweeting his displeasure at being left out of the match day squad before kick-off in the Premiership match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Sunday.

The online outburst from the striker came just a month after a bust-up involving Kris Commons during a Europa League match against Molde over in Norway.

Commons voiced his unhappiness at being substituted by Deila in the second half of the 3-1 defeat, angrily and in full view of the BT Sport television cameras, to his assistant John Collins in the dugout.

In addition, Charlie Mulgrew walked off the pitch towards the end of the Group A match against Ajax at Celtic Park last Thursday night shortly after coming onto the field as a substitute.

Deila explained afterwards that the Scotland internationalist had suffered an injury – and the player later verified this with a post on social networking site Instagram.

Still, the peculiar episode with Mulgrew and the flashpoints involving Commons and Stokes – three senior members of his squad – have led to increased speculation about the authority the manager exerts among the Celtic support.

However, Alex Smith, the chairman of the League Managers Association, last night insisted the 40-year-old is a strong personality who maintains order at the Scottish champions well.

“Deila’s discipline is very good,” said Smith. “I think he is quite a dominant character. Yes, there have been three separate situations recently. But incidents like the one with Commons happens regularly in football; a player is disappointed at being taken off in a game

“In the heat of the battle, in the spur of the moment, he mouths off. To be honest, a manager likes to see that passion. It shows he cares about being a part of the team.

“You can’t accuse Charlie Mulgrew of a bad attitude. He is an experienced professional who got an injury. For me, he has no case to answer.

“Anthony Stokes has proved himself to be a very good goalscorer and a very good player. He must be frustrated to be fit and training and not playing.

“But he has to redouble his efforts to feature. The manager must retain the right to select the team that he wants without interference and he does that.”

Meanwhile, Deila has been urged to keep faith with the youngsters who have impressed greatly in the games against Ajax and Inverness Caledonian Thistle for the remainder of the 2015/16 season.

The Celtic manager was unstinting in his praise of Scott Allan, Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney following the 3-1 victory up in the Highlands on Sunday.

Smith, the former Aberdeen manager who is currently the technical director at Falkirk, believes Deila can enjoy great success in the future, both domestically and in Europe, if he persists with that trio and their contemporaries.

“Everybody was very downbeat and downhearted after the defeat to Ajax last week,” he said. “But, for me, there was a bigger picture. Scott Allan, Stuart Armstrong, Leigh Griffiths, Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney, good young Scottish players, were all involved. That is the glimmer of hope for Celtic.

“In the 1950s, Celtic embarked upon probably the most successful youth policy in the history of football. Billy McNeill, John Clark, John Divers, Stevie Chalmers, Mick Jackson, Bobby Lennox and others broke through.

“They struggled at first against the great Rangers team of the early 1960s. But they gained first team experience and when Jock Stein took over they enjoyed extraordinary success. After that, the Quality Street Gang came through.

“Danny McGrain, Jim Brogan, Vic Davidson, Paul Wilson, George Connolly, Kenny Dalglish, Davie Hay all came in and out and eventually became established. It would be great for Scottish football if they could do it with young boys again.

“Celtic scour the world in the hope of signing players they can sell on for big money. They have been very successful doing it. But, for me, that doesn’t sit with the heritage of the club. Celtic have always produced their own players.

“If young boys with ability like Allan, McGregor and Tierney get the chance to play in the first team and show they can cope they become different people. They developed an air of confidence, a togetherness, an ambition and a hunger and also have an awareness of the history of their club.

“The other night there were glimpses of that. Celtic have an opportunity to do that now with these boys and others. They should grab it. I think their supporters would be happy for them to go that way.

“They had great success in the past doing that. I appreciate times are different now and they try to target players who can compete in Europe. But they have a very good youth policy and academy. They have to have the courage to play these boys in the first team.”