RONNY DEILA has promised the Celtic squad will be stronger after the January transfer window but ruled out signing another player on a temporary loan.

The Norwegian hopes to be busy for a number of reasons; to improve his team for the remainder of this campaign, to give the club a better chance of qualifying for the Champions League and the hope new signings might reinvigorate the supporters.

Deila may consider giving the likes of Gary Mackay-Steven and Saidy Janko going out on loan, neither have featured much lately, and Tyler Blackett could be sent back to Old Trafford given how little he has contributed.

However, it is those players who will come in next month that is of most interest to the supporters and the Celtic manager seemed confident that his club would do good business.

Deila said: "I have identified targets along with the scouting department and the staff. Of course, we sit down and talk about possible players.

"We are looking at different position and, again, it is about finding the right one. We want to get in some quality who can do a job.

"If we get in five players then you can’t have 40 players in a squad. So we will see what we need and what the players (who could go out) want is an important thing, and who would want them as well.

“But the biggest task is to make Celtic better after the winter window closes. I anticipate the squad will be stronger after January. That is an important thing for this season and the start of next season.

“Teams do not like to lose their players in the middle of the season, so this is a more difficult window. But everything is possible. We did some things last year and we did get stronger, and that is what we want to do this year."

Celtic have gone down the loan route in recent season, with mixed success, but any player who is signed over the next few months will do so on a permanent deal.

With another quick pre-season breaking coming up, Deila does not want to have to chop and change too much ahead of what he hopes is one more crack at the Champions League.

Deila said: "If we loan in a player there has to be an option to buy. We got in a couple of good players, Jason Deneyer and John Guidetti, but when you lose them in the summer, when there is such a quick turnaround, it is not a positive thing going into the Champions League.

“It is not a policy. However, it is an important thing. It was there last year but sometimes you don’t get everything. But we are even more determined now.

"We are looking all over the world. We have players looked at in almost every continent. But 90 per cent is European-based players."