POOR East Kilbride might not know what has hit them this afternoon. In any other week Celtic manager Ronny Deila may have been tempted to rest a few of his regulars for a William Hill Scottish Cup tie against non-league opposition, throw in a few fringe or young players and assume they would still have more than enough to secure safe passage through to the quarter-finals.
But after the events of the past seven days Deila can’t afford to take that chance. Defeats in the League Cup semi-final to Ross County and then in the league to Aberdeen have cranked up the pressure on the Norwegian and his players to the point that – faintly ridiculous as it may sound –some are wondering whether part-time East Kilbride could yet deliver another blow to the Celtic psyche, one that would almost certainly lead to an immediate change of manager. That some bookmakers are offering 100/1 on a victory for the Lowland League side provides the pragmatists’ view although there will still be some – in the stands, if not on the pitch – who might not be approaching the tie with the usual swagger.
The fixture list is what it is but there may be a sense of relief in the Celtic camp that, with confidence fragile, they are not being sent to Inverness, Tynecastle or Dingwall this weekend. Instead, a trip to Airdrie to take on East Kilbride offers the chance of an immediate restorative tonic.
“We have to build the confidence up now,” admitted Deila. “We’ll play a strong team and won’t change a lot. We’ll need to see how the boys feel after Wednesday night. And it’s an artificial pitch so we’ll see who can handle that. Hopefully, this is a good game for us after two defeats. It gives us a chance to put in a good perform- ance and get a positive result.
“If we can score goals, it will get confidence into the team and hopefully put us into the quarter-finals. You have to deal with setbacks in football because they will happen. It’s about how you turn it around quickly. We’ve done that brilliantly in the past so we have to do it now and Sunday is a good opportunity.”
Every Celtic defeat is analysed and pored over with the sort of scrutiny usually reserved for leaked MI5 documents, and events of the past week have shown that the team have not reacted well to adversity. They started well in both games against County and Aberdeen but as soon as something went against them – the red card in the semi-final, the Jonny Hayes goal out of nothing in midweek – it seemed to leave Celtic reeling. Deila agreed.
“Reacting and changing the course of a game when things go against us is something we can improve on,” said the manager. “It’s not very easy for me to do something, especially at Celtic Park or the other big stadiums. It’s hard to get your message across. That’s why I’m quite calm on the sidelines. You can stand and go crazy but you’re not actually out there on the pitch. That’s why it’s important the players know what to do. They have to talk to each other when they are out there.
“It’s about having leaders. That’s why we brought in Erik [Sviatchenko] and Kazim [Richards] – and we have Broony [Scott Brown] as well. You see the difference he made against Ross County. These type of players are so important to us in terms of organisation in games. We’ve started matches very well but we have to deal with setbacks within them better than we have done.”
Although Celtic have a sizeable backroom team that includes physios, sports scientists, rehabilitation and performance specialists, nutritionists and a thought-field therapist, it is Deila who serves as the first-team sports psychologist, the one who must train the players to show greater mental strength in times of adversity.
“Psychology is about motivation and reflection,” added the manager. It’s about learning from your mistakes. I start the process but the players have to do it. You don’t learn anything without experiences. You can read a book about journalism but you have to actually be a journalist to understand what it’s like. I can’t tell players what it’s like to play in front of 20,000 people. They have to experience it themselves.”
Deila was dismissive of the notion that the Scots in the team care more than those who did not grow up around the club, believing leadership and drive is not determined by nationality.
“Do people think there are more winners in Scotland than abroad? This is an opinion I’ve noticed some people have. There are winners outside of Scotland, too. People who have done things. These players know what it is all about. They are here to win. Nobody comes to Celtic without being someone who wants to win. I can find Scottish players who don’t have these qualities. You have Broony and KT but everyone is different. It’s the same with the foreign players. Stefan Johansen is an aggressive character but others are calmer. So I don’t need to tell the players how to win. They know how important it is.”
Charlie Mulgrew could be among those pitched in to today’s game for his first involvement since November. With his contract due to expire in the summer, he is a player with plenty at stake. “He’s a big character, a fantastic man and a good player but he needs to be on the pitch to be a leader,” said Deila. “That is what we will hopefully get now that he is showing consistency in his training.”
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