RONNY DEILA, the Celtic manager, has admitted that he would never have employed the low-key approach favoured by his Aberdeen counterpart, Derek McInnes, during the joust for the SPFL Premiership title.

McInnes consistently refused to talk up his side's chances of pulling off a surprise triumph, even when they were top of the table in January, and conceded defeat in the middle of last month despite there still being just five points between the sides with Celtic having a game in hand.

It is an attitude in stark contrast to that exhibited by Deila. Throughout the campaign, the Norwegian broke with the normal, conservative conventions of Scottish football to speak openly of his desire to become just the third manager in the history of the Parkhead club to secure a domestic treble.

He is already setting his sights on success in next season's Champions League and is clear when asked whether he, in the position of the head coach of Aberdeen, would have stated publicly that he was confident of finishing in first place.

"Yeah, I would say that," he said. "The goal when you play football is to win trophies and you have to believe that everything is possible in football.

"It is also about improvement, though, and they have improved. Now, they are not as far away as they were last season. If they do the same for one more year, they can fight for it."

Deila is clearly an admirer of the job McInnes has performed at Pittodrie. Ahead of his side's league visit to the Granite City on Sunday afternoon, however, he has detailed his belief that being confident enough to talk about chasing silverware is the first step to placing it in the cabinet.

"We have done it differently," he said. "That's their (Aberdeen's) tactics.

"I could not say that we are going to be number two this year. I think I would have trouble.

"It is my experience that you have to be unafraid of talking about it.

"I came here talking about a treble.

"If you say you want to go to the cup final, you will be a number two. If you say you want to win the cup, you are going to be number one.

"That's how I think about leadership and motivation.

"When we won the league with Stromsgodset, I believed we would win it. The players said we would win the league and we really believed we could do it. We did it.

"You have to put demands on yourself. You have to say what you are ready to do.

"Everything is possible in football if you work together and have consistency.

"You can see what Aberdeen have done so far, but I hope we are developing more than them and there will be a greater distance between us next year."

Deila understands the general perception that the finances Celtic possess in relation to their rivals in Scotland give them a clear advantage. He insists, however, that his time at Stromsgodset, in which he went from fighting relegation for two successive seasons to winning the Tippeligaen in 2013,should serve as proof that trophies can be secured on a budget.

"It is the same thing in Norway, but it is possible to win with less money as well," he said. "I've done it before.

"If people think like that, they will never beat us, ever. No chance. You have to believe you can do it."

Kris Commons sparked anger within Aberdeen's players and supporters just last weekend when stating that he never felt under pressure this season and always knew the Premiership title would end up back at Celtic Park for a fourth consecutive campaign.

"That's Kris' opinion," said Deila. "If he has that opinion, that is no problem for me, but it's very important to say Aberdeen has done well.

"They did a very good job and had a fantastic season. They have, of course, pushed us.

"They were not so far behind us in the league the whole season, but, if Kris feels we had control of the situation and that we were consistent, I can understand what he was saying.

"After Christmas, we were very, very consistent and good, but that takes nothing away from the season Aberdeen had."

Tensions existed between both sides, of course, before Commons made his opinions known. Aleksander Tonev was suspended for seven games by the Scottish Football Association after being found guilty of directing a racial insult at the Aberdeen full-back, Shay Logan, at Parkhead in September.

Deila also became known for his now-familiar after-match celebrations following a 2-1 win at Pittodrie in November, a match widely regarded as the moment his often difficult debut season began to take a very distinct turn for the better.

Even so, the Celtic manager admits it would be nice for Aberdeen to treat his side to a Guard of Honour, the way Queen of the South and Rangers did to Hearts in the immediate wake of their SPFL Championship success.

"It would be a good feeling to have it, but it's up to Aberdeen," said Deila. "It's not the most important thing for me to think about.

"If that was the tradition, I think we would do it for them. We want to be respectful and do what people do.

"The most important victory was the last time we went there.

"At the time, we were struggling and had played so many games in Europe.

"There was an unbelievable togetherness after that game. That gave us extra energy and belief to go on."