CONSIDERING his flair for theatrical celebration, it might be worth turning up at Celtic Park this Thursday night just to see what Ronny Deila has in mind to mark the occasion, should his side qualify from the Europa League group stage.

The Norwegian has form for stripping to his underpants and indulged in some epic fist-pumping in front of the travelling support when his 10 men came from behind to beat Aberdeen and go top of the league for the first time under his stewardship in their last match.

Celtic require a solitary point against a Red Bull Salzburg side who have already qualified - or for Dinamo Zagreb to slip up against FC Astra Giurgiu - to clinch their berth in the last 32 and it is tempting to contend that the first authentic achievement of the Norwegian's Celtic career might lead him to strip naked and run the length of London Road before taking a dip in the icy depths of the Clyde.

This was another interesting week in the life of this 39-year-old qualified teacher and former manager of Brodd and Stromsgodset, in that he was granted his first exposure to the Celtic AGM. This time the topic de jour was the idea of introducing the living wage for all club employees but top of Deila's priorities are the financial arrangements of a certain Swedish striker.

The manager revealed for the first time last night that as part of John Guidetti's loan move from Manchester City, Celtic have first option to make the deal permanent for a fee thought to be in the region of £5 million this January. Then, of course, there would be the small matter of agreeing a wage package with a player whose goalscoring feats have been attracting attention since he arrived in Scotland, with Marseille thought to be interested.

"With every player we bring in on loan we try to have an option to buy," said Deila, who feels the re-signing of captain Scott Brown on a four-year deal can only help to persuade Guidetti to make his move permanent. "That's why I can say we know what it will cost. It could be harder at the end of the season. This decision has to be taken before that. I think he should stay here."

Guidetti is, of course, ineligible to play in this tournament until after the transfer window, but without him Celtic kicked off their Europa League campaign with a 2-2 draw in Salzburg. Deila is enthused about Thursday night's match, not least because of the snapshot it offers on how far his team have progressed since then. With a job lot of third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage set to drop in to the competition in the New Year, finishing top of their Europa League group would also be advantageous to Celtic in terms of their forward progress in this competition.

"I think we were well prepared for the game in Austria," Deila said. "They are a very good team, but we have progressed too. It will be very exciting to see how we stand against them now. They are a very good opponent who have had very good results over the last two or three years. They play in a way that I like; this is how we want to see Celtic also.

"It's at Celtic Park and we will be full of energy and hunger to win. Hopefully we will get three points. That's what we want, to be leading the group at the end. We want to get the best position we can, but when you play six matches you get what you deserve. We'll see what we deserve."

If Celtic are to piece together a prolonged run in Europe's secondary club competition, they will be thankful for a rest in January. The SPFL announced this week that the club will take a mini-winter break after they requested the postponement of their match with St Johnstone, and their manager feels the advantages are three-fold.

"First we need a little break to recover and train," said Deila, used to spending January in sunnier climes when the Norwegian league is out of season. "It's also about getting good conditions to train well - sunshine to bring positive energy and vitamins. The third thing is to play an international opponent. We have some options and we'll see what we are going to choose."

Equally important for Celtic in January will be the process of refreshing their squad, something deemed vital if players are to be bedded in by the time of next year's Champions League qualifiers. Deila says he has been scouting homegrown players on video and in person, but needs evidence they would be able to "do it consistently".

One Scottish player who has been doing just that is Craig Gordon, who made his first appearance for the national team for four years against England last week. Given his injury history, Gordon has more than validated the two-year deal he signed in the summer, but he said he will not seek improved conditions after overcoming doubts over his fitness.

"I'm not bothered," the 31-year-old said. "I'm quite happy back playing football and being back in Scotland squads and managing to get a cap. They were the goals for me rather than trying to make 'X' amount of money. That will take care of itself."

Turning his attention to this week's opponents, the goalkeeper added: "Salzburg are a good team, they're probably looking at trying to get into the Champions League most years. I was very impressed by them, I thought they were very good across there and we were slightly fortunate to escape with a point. It's going to be a test for us."