RONNY Deila will probably be judged on how his team get on in Europe and the domestic cups, which is why Celtic really need to have a strong Europa League campaign. People now take them winning the league for granted, rightly or wrongly, so it’s vital for Deila to prove he has a team who can compete in Europe as well.

It will still feel like second-best after failing to make the Champions League but that’s gone now and all they can do is focus on what lies ahead and try to make the most of it. Last year’s group phase wasn’t all that exciting but once they got through and were paired with Inter in the last 32; then that brought a touch of excitement and glamour.

This year’s opposition – Ajax, Fenerbahce and Molde – are all more recognisable names than the teams they faced last year, with the first two both of Champions League calibre. Players like Robin van Persie and Nani will hopefully get the fans turning out in decent numbers too, unlike last year when the top tier of Parkhead was closed for the group games. That showed what the fans thought of it all after being knocked out of the Champions League twice in the one season.

Being in with these big names, however, will also make it harder to qualify. Molde will make it difficult for the others as they will be a strong, energetic side but at the moment it looks like three teams battling it out for two places in the knock-out stage. Celtic start off with possibly their hardest match away in Amsterdam on Thursday but if they can come away with a positive result it could set the tone for a successful campaign.

And they will want to do well. We have seen a lot of clubs, in England especially, who haven’t seemed all that bothered with the Europa League but after the recent disappointments in Champions League qualifying, the last thing Ronny Deila needs is for Celtic to suffer another setback in Europe. They will be setting their sights on getting out of the group and, although it will be difficult, it is certainly not beyond them. If they can do that, the momentum could start to gather to help take them a few rounds further. And Deila could really do with something like that this season.

SCOTLAND losing to Germany last Monday wasn’t a surprise but, with other results, it really leaves us up against it in the race to qualify for Euro 2016. I said in the column last week the defeat in Georgia could well be the one that comes back to haunt us and, with just two games left, you would have to say we only really have an outside opportunity of making it now.

We have still got a chance because Ireland have hard games against Germany and Poland but you have to say they’re in a better place than us to get that third spot and go into the play-offs. The bookies have got us as big as 8/1 to reach France next summer with the Republic of Ireland just 7/4 to do the same. That tells its own story.

The huge disappointment is that we set ourselves up so well with the start we made to the campaign. Suddenly, though, we had what was effectively our cup final in Tbilisi and we never turned up. From a really strong position we’ve managed to shoot ourselves in the foot.

It’s not done yet if we can get a positive result against Poland and other results go our way but it’s not looking great right now from a Scottish perspective. With Celtic being knocked out of the Champions League and the rest of our clubs not lasting long in the Europa League, it’s set to be another blow for our game.

MAYBE it was just a coincidence but it was interesting to see that, on the same day the SPFL announced a new improved TV deal with Sky Sports and BT, Rangers chairman Dave King also came out and said they had reached a settlement to pay off Ally McCoist.

I’m glad that it’s done and dusted, and dealt with in a dignified way by both parties. Ally is a club legend and it would have been a shame if it had dragged on any longer, but let’s not kid on it was a selfless gesture from Ally, he’ll still be walking away with a nice wee lump sum! So news of the extra TV money probably came at the right time for Rangers.