RONNY DEILA has insisted his priority in the January transfer window will be to tie existing players to the club.
The Celtic manager will be given money to spend on recruitment but insisted he will work on keeping Kris Commons, Virgil Van Dijk and signing John Guidetti, on loan from Manchester City, on a permanent deal.
Deila said he was hopeful of signing new players next month but added: '' I've said also that to get consistency to keep players is more important''
On both Guidetti and Commons, the Norwegian said: '' "The negotiations are going on. There is progress all the time. We will see if we can get what we want. If we do, everyone will be happy."
He has also signing targets that he hopes to bring in at the start of the transfer window but said his priority was to keep the players he knows.
''It is much easier to develop what you have, when you know what you have. To get people in, is like getting presents. You never know what you get. It could be nice or something you have to throw away,'' he said.
He was confident Guidetti would improve, pointing out the Swedish striker is 22. The Manchester City player, though, faces a strong challenge for his place in the side against Ross County on Saturday.
Delia said he had been impressed by the recent form of Leigh Griffiths who has ''bought into'' the manager's ideas on preparation and performance. ''It will be hard to keep him out of the first XI,'' Deila said yesterday of the former Hibernian striker who scored against Dundee United on Sunday.
He also disclosed that Mikael Lustig, the Swedish full-back, would miss the match against Ross County but could be back early in the New Year.
However, Charlie Mulgrew, the Scottish internationalist, will not be back for three weeks at least as he recovers from a knee injury and Jason Denayer, the on-loan Manchester City defender, is doubtful for Saturday.
Wakoso Mubarak, the Ghanaian winger, will also miss Saturday's match after cutting his forehead during a development squad game on Monday.
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