MARK Warburton last night spoke up in defence of Ronny Deila and predicted the departing Celtic manager would go on to find employment at another big club on the continent. While the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers on Sunday undoubtedly played a part in the Norwegian's downfall, the Ibrox manager is convinced that his decision to leave at the end of the season after two seasons in charge had deeper reasons than that. He notes that Deila received a lot of criticism for a manager on course to recording his second successive Ladbrokes Premiership campaign but wouldn't allow the imminent change of management across the city to alter his recruitment plans for next season.
“Celtic are the biggest club, with the biggest budget – I get that," said Warburton. "They are the champions and they look like they are going to win it again so right now they are the number one club. But Ronny Deila has received a lot of criticism. I’m sure he will go onto find another very good club.
Read more: Old Firm manager analysis - A draining afternoon for Mark Warburton and Ronny Deila
“I don’t think Ronny moved on because of that result on Sunday," the Englishman added. "Will it be seen, maybe, as a defining moment, or whatever? I don’t know. But I don’t think it was because of that one result. I can’t believe that for one second.
“What’s the first question a manager asks? It’s ‘what do you expect from me?' What represents success? Ronny must have been told to win the league. If they said to him win the Champions League then he’s failed.
"I met him at the pre-game press conference [for the Old Firm match] and had half an hour chatting with him. He came across as a gentleman, I found his company good and he spoke well about football. He was complimentary and we spoke about different players. It is a shame to see a good person leave the country."
Read more: Mark Warburton scathing as Hampden surface overshadows Petrofac Cup win
While Deila's demise is an illustration of the old truism of how the fortunes of one Old Firm club unavoidably impact on the other, Warburton is adamant that his plans for developing Rangers should remain unaffected. "It [what Celtic do now] doesn’t affect us in the slightest," said the Rangers manager. "No disrespect but it doesn’t affect us what Celtic do, what Aberdeen do, what Hearts do. It’s about Rangers. Our recruitment can’t be affected by what other people do. That’s lunacy. We have targets and we need to go and get them. But what we shouldn’t do is be impacted by another club."
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