THE most obvious thing that sprang to mind upon perusing the 15 names Celtic could be paired with in Monday's draw for the last 32 of the Europa League was this: where are the easy teams?

UEFA's secondary club competition may remain largely unloved but there is little argument that, come the knock-out phase, it boasts clubs of a calibre similar to many of those competing in the Champions League. Whoever Celtic get - whether it is one of the 11 Europa League group winners, or one of the quartet of Champions League drop-outs - then it will almost certainly mean a glamorous but exceptionally difficult tie.

Ronny Deila has been through the list as well. There are some clubs he would like to avoid, and one or two he believes his side can beat. For now, however, the Celtic manager is keeping those close to his chest. Only on one club would he be drawn. Legia Warsaw is a name to send shivers down the spine of Deila and the Celtic support. Having thoroughly outplayed the Scottish champions over two legs, only an administrative error prevented the Poles from reaching the final qualifying round of the Champions League at Celtic's expense. Legia did not take that setback lightly, threatening legal action and then mocking Celtic on social media when the Scots failed to take advantage of their reprieve by going on to lose to Maribor in the play-off round.

Now fate could conspire to draw Celtic and Legia, winners of Group L, together again. Deila hopes not. A re-match against compatriot Henning Berg would give Celtic a chance to show they have dramatically improved since that aggregate 6-1 cuffing but, given the acrimony that would likely surround the tie, the Celtic manager would prefer to draw another club.

"We have played them once already this year so it would be nice to get someone else," said Deila. "If we get Legia it's no problem but I don't think UEFA wants us to play. I understand that maybe the supporters would feel strongly [about playing Legia] but that's why I think that maybe it would be better to avoid that and play other teams in the next round.

"Whoever we draw is going to be a tough opponent and a very good game. Going through and filling the stadium is what we are aiming for. There are some big clubs in there but again it's about what kind of team you are. It's fine having big names but how good are they? That is the most important thing."

Deila, though, believes his team would acquit itself much better this time should they end up drawn to face Legia again.

"They are a very good team and they showed that," he added. "But we are a totally different team now than we were back then so it would be a totally different game if we got them again.

"I haven't spoken to Henning since we talked after the game last time. But we have a good relationship and I'm happy for him because he is doing very well and that is positive for Norwegian football."

Whether Kris Commons is still a Celtic player by the time the first leg comes around on February 19 remains to be seen. The forward is out of contract in the summer and the length of any new deal is currently a sticking point in negotiations between the player's agent and Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive. Deila hoped Commons would stay beyond the end of the season but admitted there was a chance the player could move on next month.

"The situation is that Peter is talking with his agent about a structure in his deal and that is where we stand right now," said Deila whose team face St Mirren at home tomorrow. "It is still quite early in the negotiations and this is normal procedure. There's always a chance that we could lose him in January but we have to think of the best interests of the club and what we think will make the team as good as possible.

"It's about negotiation. Kris wants something, we want something and it's about agreeing on something that we both want to do. We will see if it's going to happen. I still see a future for him here. He is a good player. You saw that on Thursday night [against Dinamo Zagreb] - he can be an influence on us scoring goals and that is important.

"Stefan [Johansen] has also played well in that position and you need competition. Kris has been unlucky with injury but he is an important player for us."

ends