How Ronny Deila found his feet at Celtic

Asked to sum up his maiden campaign in charge of Celtic, Ronny Deila said it had been a combination of "hell and heaven". The celestial heights eventually came in the shape of a domestic league and cup double but the 39-year-old admitted his first six months in Glasgow had been "very tough".

Following in the footsteps Neil Lennon – who had led the Hoops to a famous UEFA Champions League win against the mighty Barcelona in 2012 – was never going to be an easy task, especially for a relatively inexperienced manager. Although he had made his name by leading Strømsgodset to their first Norwegian title in 43 years in 2013, moving to a club with the tradition of Celtic was a big step up for Deila, who had previously been considered for a position as Lennon's assistant.

While he characterised his arrival at the club as the best day of his life, Deila had little time to put his stamp on the team before they were pitched into UEFA Champions League qualifiers last summer. A humiliating 6-1 aggregate defeat to Legia Warszawa in the third qualifying round was partially redeemed when an administrative error handed the Hoops a reprieve and a play-off spot against Maribor. However, it was a stroke of luck that Deila's side failed to capitalise on, Celtic losing to the Slovenian side and settling for a UEFA Europa League place.

Deila and Hoops striker Leigh Griffiths©Getty Images

It was a disappointing start, and there would be teething problems at home too, with Celtic dropping 15 points in the Scottish Premiership before the New Year, promoted Hamilton Academical notably earning their first success at Celtic Park in 76 years. These were testing times for the Norwegian but his pressing, high tempo game gradually won over players and supporters, culminating in the coach's much feted 'Ronny Roar' which greeted ten-man Celtic's 2-1 victory against title rivals Aberdeen at the start of November.

That game proved to be a turning point for Deila, and with the players now fully buying into his '24-hour athlete' approach, Celtic cruised to a fourth consecutive title, finishing a commanding 17 points ahead of the Dons. However, European success will always be the ultimate yardstick for any Celtic manager, and although Deila led the Hoops to the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League before being edged out by Internazionale Milano last season, reaching the group stages of the UEFA Champions League remains the Holy Grail.

Ironically, fellow Norwegian Åge Hareide stands in Deila's way as Celtic prepare for Wednesday's first leg of their play-off tie against Swedish champions Malmö, a club Deila might have joined before the opportunity came to move to Scotland. Despite his difficult start in Glasgow, Deila has no regrets and in his own words his dream is "to keep winning, winning, winning and to go to the Champions League and make the Scottish people proud of Celtic".

Deila watches his side come unstuck against Legia last summer©Getty Images