THE title had been won by Ne'erday.

Indeed, Ronny Deila was about one month into a bout of celebrations after Stromsgodset had won the Norwegian title for the first time in 43 years. But that was then and this is now.

The joyful ease of New Year 2014 has been replaced by the frenetic activity of New Year 2015 for Deila.

Celtic lie one point behind Aberdeen in the SPFL Premiership with a title far from won. Neil Lennon, his predecessor, had threatened to make it a tradition that the championship was so wrapped up by Christmas it should have been placed under the tree in the foyer at Parkhead.

The temptation to be caught up in any excitement over the possibility of a contest for the title is being resisted by Deila. It is not as if he is untouched by the excitement of football, pointing out: "I'm very hungry for it because I know how unbelievably fun it is to win trophies. Every day when I wake up I think about winning and about the right things we need to do to win."

He added: "It's in my mind every day, it's a lifestyle not a job. You have to have your whole body and mind devoted to it. Your mind is going constantly thinking about progress and thinking what is the next step. Things are changing and you have to always be ahead. If you are caught on your back foot then you are in trouble."

But he views the form of Aberdeen and Dundee United as interesting more than devastatingly threatening. "The next six months are going to be so exciting," he said.

"This time last year I was just hoping to win the league again in Norway. We had won the title with Stromsgodset and I was hoping to do it again."

This New Year he watched Aberdeen take over at the top, United close the gap and he now has Kilmarnock waiting on their artificial turf on Monday before Celtic head to Gran Canaria.

One remarkable aspect about Deila is that he genuinely seems unperturbed about the sort of wailing on radio phone-ins or the blaring of headlines that insist the end may be nigh.

He views the mayhem with some detachment, declining to elaborate on Rangers and the upcoming League Cup semi-final, pointing out his side are the best in the league, given they are just one point behind with a game in hand. Celtic certainly have conceded the fewest goals and are three short of United's goal tally and one short of Hamilton Academical's, with both sides having played a match more.

"It is still in our hands, if we win all our games then we'll be league winners," he said, pointing out it may just be a tad premature to talk about a title challenge when his side has 20 matches to play.

The speculation about how the race will unfold owes something to the lack of a credible challenge in recent years but also to doubts about the direction of Celtic under Deila.

The latter has been exacerbated by the taking of the winter break in Gran Canaria. One view is that Celtic may be leaving Scotland at precisely the wrong time with Aberdeen and United ready to pounce. Curiously, no one mentions Hamilton, who are four points off the lead.

Deila has a predictable take on the trip to the Canaries. "I think it is going to be positive when we get down there, to get the squad together and to get ready for the second half of the season,'' he said.

"We will get a little break and that's good for the head. And also when you see the weather here, we will be more relaxed in Gran Canaria and get time to practise things and spend time coaching. This is going to be a good thing and we will have tough games when we come back and that's what we hoped for when we started the season."

The winter break is the staple of European football for good reason. It offers the chance to regroup, even rejuvenate. The danger of Celtic facing a fixture pile-up seems limited. They have 20 league matches to play, a maximum of two in the league cup and four matches could see them win the Scottish Cup. They are unlikely to be detained in the Europa League beyond two meetings with Internazionale.

Celtic have already played 33 matches so it can reasonably be said they are more than halfway through the season.

Deila is wrong when he says Celtic have scored more goals in the league than anybody and his judgment on the progress of his team is necessarily subjective. There is one reality. Celtic are still in all three domestic competitions and remain in Europe.

They could very well come back from Gran Canaria in third place but they will also return with the strongest squad in the Premiership and with the benefits of extra training and substantial recuperation. Celtic, too, can strengthen in the transfer market.

However, the team and Deila need to leave with a victory. The manager insists it is all about incremental gains, about steadily impressing his philosophy on his players.

"That's going on all the time, progressing little by little all the time. Same with the culture I want to create. It's about short-term winning and long-term developing so we can win better in the future," he said.

He added: "So you have to think two thoughts at the same time and that's what I'm doing."

There is, though, one priority at Celtic. It is winning the league. Delia and his team must be single-minded at Rugby Park on Monday.