Celtic have undoubtedly been left disappointed with their poor run of form in recent weeks. A team that was comfortably expected to lead the Scottish Premier League from the start finds themselves in the fourth place after losing a number of matches and dropping points in others. This has led to a lot of speculation about manager Ronny Deila’s future at the club, which may be surprising for many given that he was appointed only a few months ago. However, the Norwegian manager says that he is keen on kickstarting the campaign after a 2-1 win over Aberdeen last weekend.
The Scottish club prepare for the upcoming Europa League encounter against Red Bull Salzburg. Europa League is the latest version of the UEFA cup and Celtic fans will have on memories of this competition. The club were under the management of Martin O’Neill when they reached the final of the 2003 UEFA cup only to be beaten by FC Porto. The 3-2 loss against the Portuguese club is one of the closest Celtic have come close to winning a major European competition. Deila says that he does not only want to match the achievements of O’Neill but also go beyond by winning the title.
“I am very aware of Celtic’s Uefa Cup run in 2003. That would be a dream if we could to that this season. I remember it well, I was really into my football even then and watched all the games on TV as Celtic reached the final. I was playing for Odd Grenland in Norway and was also in charge of the youth team at the time. I wouldn’t say I was studying to be a manager at that point, I was more like a supporter. I remember Martin O’Neill’s team was fantastic,” said Deila ahead of the match.