And the Hoops manager has warned the reputation of the Scottish game will suffer abroad if the poor quality of the surface impacts on both teams’ ability to perform to their full potential.
“The pitch hasn’t been fantastic in the past and I’ve seen it again this week and it could be better,” he said.
“I went out to have a look at it when I was there on Thursday and it is not at the level it should be.
“That’s a little surprising because these big games are shown in a lot of countries, so it’s important to show Scottish football in the best light and to do that you need a perfect pitch.
“It was even worse against Rangers last year. Then it was very rutted. You’d have to ask the people at Hampden why that is. But as a national stadium it should be perfect.”
This afternoon’s tie will be the first of two big challenges for Celtic in the space of four days, with the Hoops travelling north to meet Premiership title rivals Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Wednesday.
“You would always want to have more rest, of course, but these are big games so there is no problem with motivation here,”said Deila.
“In terms of Aberdeen I think that, of course, there is more pressure on them than on us.
“For us, it will be an opportunity to go out and show that we are the best team in Scotland.
“If we win it won’t be the league finished but it would be very tough for them.”
For keeper Craig Gordon it will be a first return to the ground since he was sent off against County’s Highland neighbours Inverness Caley Thistle in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final.
Celtic lost the game, 3-2, and with it their Treble chance. ICT went on to win the trophy for the first time in their history, beating Falkirk in the Final.
It was a highly-controversial defeat with Caley Jags defender Josh Meekings escaping censure for ‘saving’ Leigh Griffiths’ goalbound effort on the line with his hand.
“These things can happen in football, they are part and parcel of the game,” said the 33-year-old goalie.
“Any team can win on any given day. That’s why we love football so much.
“In saying that, we could still have won that game with 10 men. Aberdeen did it this season, when they came back from a goal behind to beat County in Dingwall recently.”
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