Celtic targets just laugh at us, admits Deila

Celtic manager Ronny Deila has revealed the club’s attempts to sign top players have become laughable.

The Hoops manager has endured a traumatic start to life in the Parkhead hot-seat as his side failed to reach the Champions League.

But the Norwegian has lifted the lid on the almost impossible task he faces in trying to recruit his preferred signing targets.

He said: “The problem is salaries. I think the same names you’re thinking in your head and that the supporters are thinking, but when they take the call they start laughing.

“The difference between the big leagues and Scotland is so unbelievable, you have no chance. So we can just forget Premier League and Championship because it is so hard.

“You have to either rent players or wait to see what happens with the squads of the biggest clubs and get something in the end. That’s the reality and it’s hard to understand.

“The players you have in your head you can double maybe treble the salary what we can give.

“Then you say we can maybe take it up. But if you give that to one of the players, what will the players who’ve been here for a long time?”

The Norwegian did insist though he will put things right and make sure Celtic are ready to return to the Champions League next term.

He said: “Next year when I sit here judge me and harshly if I haven’t done the things. This year the most important thing is to win the league and we want to do well in the Cups too. To get the triple would be fantastic.

“I want to use all the matches in Europe to see how good we are and develop through that. I hope we go through.

“Next year I hope we can go into the Champions League group stages and go into the qualifiers thinking: We look stronger, this is going to happen.”

Deila can, at least, take some comfort in the fact both Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon both failed to deliver Champions League football in their first seasons in the post.

“Yes, that is important,” he said. “Everyone needs time – to help get everything under control.

“It has been tough, a tough ten weeks. I can assure you of that. It has been much tougher than I thought it would be.

“You can’t ever know what you are going into this job you have to experience it.

“I am enjoying it. I am in pain also sometimes. But you always have to have in your mind that you have to bounce back, that you have to find a way out of it.”