AND to think Ronny Deila thought everything he did before now was being judged.

In three weeks time, when his Celtic side take on FC Stjarnan, his every decision, no matter how seemingly insignificant, will be scrutinised with an intensity the Norwegian won't have come close to experiencing before.

The whole 'is this bloke up to it' question was dealt with, in part, when Celtic won the Championship, League Cup and his team eventually played some good football towards the end of what was a successful first season for Deila.

But yet there were still some out there, and we're talking about his own supporters, reluctant to offer unconditional credit to the man given the supposed lack of competition at home, forgetting that it was by and large a closely run Scottish Premiership title race, and that he did win two of three available trophies.

The Celtic manager was even unable to enjoy total peace while relaxing in Gran Canaria because someone filmed him singing the Tom Jones ballad 'Delilah' in a bar. It wasn't a bad version at it happened so the Norwegian can carry a tune.

However, here comes the real test, where any Celtic manager in this Ranger-less universe will be passed or failed; the Champions League.

All he needs to do is get through three qualifying rounds and then make an impact on the group stages with less money than Neil Lennon had to work with, never mind the relative fortunes bestowed on Gordon Strachan and especially Martin O'Neill.

And in case it escaped you, just about every club Celtic could face on the way has more money to spend, and yet it is in this arena, stacked so unfavourably against the Scottish champions, where Deila has to really prove himself worthy of his job.

It hardly sounds fair, does it.

But if Deila felt the pressure, if he knew that even some Celtic fans have been waiting for the Champions League to come along before delivering their final verdict, he at least looked contented and confident in his first of what will be many meetings with the press.

And when asked to give a percentage of his side's chances of making the group stages, he wasn't for playing down any hopes.

"I'd like to believe it is 100% but it is hard to say that. I see us getting into the group stages every day. That is the goal, " said Deila. "I'm working every day to see how we can reach there. Hopefully we will make it.

"I am 500% more confident about our chances of getting in to the Champions League this year, compared to last year. It all happened very quickly last summer. I was taking charge of a game at Stromsgodset and two days later I signed up to be the Celtic manager.

"Two weeks later, I was standing in the middle of the Champions League in a circus. Now, I know what's coming. I have prepared for a year and I feel very responsible. This is something I have been building up to with everyone at the club. I am excited about the next two months."

Deila is many things. Stupid is not one of them. He will know that a good European campaign is a must, not just for his own credibility, although failure should not damn him forever, but also for the club who need the money and prestige of those midweek nights at Celtic Park.

"How I am judged is down to others," said the manager. "You have to decide how you are going to judge me. But I want to get to the Champions League as much as you or the players. That's the target and I know we have a chance to do it.

"I really believe we can make it this season. I will be very disappointed if we don't do it. But football is football, you never know. We want to grow as a team and as a club. This year I really, really feel the responsibility to try to get the team into the Champions League."

Celtic supporters will be reassured by their manager's unshaken belief in what can be achieved this season. Talk of winning a Treble is not going to go away but relative success in Europe's top tournament is what this campaign should be all about.

They will also find comfort in the fact Deila gave off the impression of being the most relaxed man in Scotland on the day when many of his players reported back to the Lennoxtown training centre for fitness test.

"I don't feel people give me pressure in this club," he said. "There is a hard pressure all the time and I think it's important people see what we are trying to do.

"That there is meaning in your words, which they see what you are trying to do and that things are happening the way you want it. Then you build trust with the fans and with the people around you.

"We know we have good quality in the team. We know that when Celtic has good teams, they are fighting in the Champions League group stages and went through two or three times in the last 15 years. That's also a goal for us - to do that. But now the first step is to try to get there and gain experience of that."

But never mind all that nonsense. Come on, Ronny, what about those disgraceful scenes of you having a good time while on your summer holiday?

"I'd have had to do crazier things than that to make the headlines in Norway," he said with a smile. "Of course that is something I have to learn about this job. I understand that. Wherever you are in the world, you are watched.

"That was just a relaxing day. There was nothing wrong in what I was doing. Hopefully next time, you will take pictures of me when I am jogging in the morning and doing positive things."

If he can get Celtic to the Champions League and win a few games when he's there, Deila could sing Simply the Best at his next turn on the Karaoke machine and he'd get away with it.