IT is such a topsy-turvy existence inside the maelstrom of Old Firm life that the one incident which has placed Ronny Deila’s future at Celtic under such stringent examination may also be the one which propels the club towards a fifth consecutive league title.
Kris Commons’ meltdown in Molde raised all manner of questions over the degree of control the Norwegian has over first-team matters at the Parkhead side.
The nature of that 3-1 defeat in his homeland, the inadequacy of the performance and the continuing failure to perform defensive basics, led to a group of supporters gathering around the team bus after time-up to let Deila know that the novelty of the ‘Ronny Roar’ is beginning to wear a little thin in the wake of another disastrous expedition in Europe.
The removal of Commons for Nadir Ciftci with 14 minutes remaining was, undoubtedly, a catalyst for that unusual show of dissent.
Commons had briefly hauled Celtic back into the game by scoring to make it 2-1 and certainly appeared one of the players more capable of rescuing something from a truly dire evening.
The travelling support could barely comprehend the decision to remove him from the play. As for Commons, his tirade at the management team both as he left the field and as he took his seat in the technical area has been dissected in detail and most definitely hinted at a greater disquiet behind the scenes.
Make no mistake, this will all return to centre stage should Molde repeat the dose at Celtic Park next Thursday. Europe is where Deila will make or break his reputation.
For the moment, though, domestic issues reign supreme and the former Rangers manager, Alex McLeish, believes the need to clear the air after Commons’ most public outburst may actually have strengthened the defending champions at a key point in the race for the title.
Commons apologised for his behaviour the day after the Molde game. After scoring twice in a 5-0 win over Dundee United next time out, Deila hugged him on the touchline and retained him in the nucleus of his side for the midweek League Cup quarter-final win over Hearts.
Celtic are beginning to look like a team channelling their anger in the right direction and McLeish suspects that spells bad news for his former club, Aberdeen, as they head to Glasgow tomorrow in the hope of ending a dreadful run that has brought just one point from four league games and left all hope of an unlikely championship triumph hanging by a thread.
“The incident with Commons has probably galvanised Celtic and that is bad news for the rest of the Scottish league,” stated McLeish. “It was such a big talking point.
“I was covering the game for a TV station down in England and I was all ready to analyse the goals.
“They told me to forget the goals and talk about Commons.
“In a bizarre way, it has helped Celtic as is so often the case in football.
“He quickly apologised, scored two goals against Dundee United and the whole Celtic team are buzzing again.
“Things like can bring everyone back together.”
Quite what has happened to destroy what was developing at Aberdeen remains open to conjecture. Certainly, they are a shadow of the team that opened the campaign with eight straight victories and McLeish believes they are up against it as they endeavour to close the four-point gap that has opened up at the head of the Ladbrokes Premiership.
“Celtic have a bit of momentum again in the league, if not in Europe,” he said.
“They’ve still got a chance in Europe with the games they’ve got at home, but they are certainly going well domestically.
“I think it will be hard for the Dons this weekend.
“They’ll need to summon every ounce of mental strength they can.
“They’ve beaten Celtic already this season so the evidence is there, but they’re on a pretty bad run after the most phenomenal run of form.
“To go to Celtic Park and win, you need to really believe. I’m sure Derek McInnes will have them going there with that kind of attitude.”
McLeish, of course, has a special interest in this most appealing of weekends. As first play second in the Premiership, the same situation exists in the league below.
Hibernian play host to Rangers in the Championship on Sunday in the knowledge that a win would reduce the gap between them to a manageable five points. The 56-year-old enjoyed profitable spells as manager of both clubs and believes it is crucial that Alan Stubbs’ side send out a real signal of intent having lost twice to the Ibrox club already this season.
“Hibs got a couple of results last year, but Rangers are a revitalised team,” he stated. “Their confidence is sky high.
“Hibs now have to go and make a statement. They have to try to set down a marker.
“It’s like me, when I was at Hibs, going head-to-head with Dick Advocaat and all the fantastic players he had at the time.
“We proved it was possible to do it and that’s what Stubbsy needs – one of those really big results.
“If they are going to make a mark, they can’t say: ‘Forget about Rangers and let’s beat everybody else.”
McLeish has been impressed by the work carried out by Mark Warburton and his assistant, David Weir, in rebuilding Rangers and puts much of that down to the new players they have based their project around.
“The turnover in personnel was very important and you have to credit them for their choice of players they have brought in,” he said.
“I think English guys always seem to be a wee bit more arrogant – and I don’t mean that in a bad way – than Scottish guys.
“I am talking about their general confidence and approach, so I think there have been a few shrewd signings, good players, from England’s lower divisions and some good loan players.
“For me, half the manager’s job is getting recruitment right.”
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