Deila: I want to be Celtic boss for 10 years

Ronny Deila would like to be Celtic manager for a decade.

Appointed to the role by the Hoops last summer, the Norwegian is closing in on what would be an historic domestic Treble.

Only Jock Stein twice back in the 1960s and Martin O’Neill in 2000-01, his first season in charge have achieved the feat.

Yet while acknowledging such tangible evidence of his coaching ability could generate opportunities for him to quit for England or abroad, he insists he is only at the start of his Celtic project.

“I like to think long-term, something that is not always easy in top-level football,” he said as he prepared for today’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Inverness Caley Thistle.

“When there is a lot of turnover, you can get very cynical because the manager is just thinking of themselves.

“They go to the Board, saying I need X or Y amount of money to create something, and then they buy in the players they want.

“But they don’t think about the club, how they are going to help it grow. So, even when they are successful, they can cause a financial problem for the future.”

The 39-year-old is, he insists, a very different character.

“I have almost always been with my clubs for a long time,” said the Norwegian.

“I stayed with Odd Grenland for 12 years, and then I was with Stromsgodset for nine years.

“So I like to be long-term. It’s something I am proud of because you can’t stay in a club for a long time if you are a bad person.

“As long as I am developing myself, as long as I go to work enjoying doing it and seeing I can make the club better, I don’t see any reason I shouldn’t be with Celtic for a decade.

“That’s what gives me energy, to develop and create things and to win trophies.

“I know when you do things right together with the other people here that there will be silverware because the players are good, and you get what you deserve in the end.”

That may be the case but, as Hoops full-back Emilio Izaguirre points out, there can be blips.

“I am always reminded of 2011 when we lost a title at Inverness,” recalled the Honduran.

“We lost 3-2 against them, and Rangers were able to get in front of us. It was very sad.

“The most important thing for us after that was that we kept our heads up and continued to improve all the time.

“And, of course, we won the League the next season.”

Izaguirre is, meanwhile, set to miss his country’s summer matches against Ethiopia, Paraguay and Brazil in order to have a rest.

“I have a contract with Celtic and a moral obligation to be here with my team for the very important Champions League qualifiers,” he said.

“So I am going to talk to the Honduras Federation, and they will understand I want to be here for June 23 and the start of pre-season.”