It can doubtless be interpreted by his critics as indicating a lack of ambition but in reflecting on the past year Ronny Deila has suggested that having a squad that is packed with potential rather than finished products better suits the aspirations of the modern Celtic.
The Norwegian, who has bravely addressed some of the cultural issues that afflict Scottish sport in general and the national game in particular in his time in charge, is also realistic to know that playing in Scotland will never satisfy those capable of playing at the highest level and he has explained just how much of a problem that became with the latest to outgrow the Scottish champions.
“Of course it was (a distraction),” he said of the speculation that seemed constantly to surround Virgil van Dijk, most notably this time last year.
“I’ve seen a lot of the games and he’s a Premier League player and we knew that when we sold him.
“Every window there was something happening and a couple of games he wasn’t able to play because there was too much going on around him and that’s affecting everybody which was not a positive for us.”
Deila indicated that the Dutchman might also have handled things better, too.
“You can tell people what they’re going to do, but they’ve got to understand it themselves and then they have to have that experience. I think he will do it a little bit differently if Manchester United want him now,” he observed.
While he does not rule out the possibility of losing players this January he is not anticipating anything similar in this transfer window and Deila seems confident about the ethos within his squad.
“You never know, but I’m more comfortable now than I was last year because Virgil has gone,” he said.
“We knew all the time that he was never stopping. Now we have a lot of potential in a lot of players, but they still have something to prove here to develop before they can take that next step.”
In many ways that is exemplified by the 2015 experience of one of the most promising homegrown players Celtic have produced in many years and not just in the way the 18-year-old has performed in establishing himself in the first team squad and the affections of supporters.
This time last year Tierney was sidelined, the high of earning a place on the bench for a Premiership match for the first time against Ross County immediately countered by the horror of breaking his leg in training the following day.
Initially warned that he would be out for the rest of the season it was not just the post-operative news that the ligament damage normally associated with a fractured tibia had not occurred that was welcome as he began his recuperation.
No manager could be displeased with the youngster’s account of the response to his plight of those around him, in particular the most senior members of the squad.
“All the coaches were really supportive, sending texts when I hadn’t been in for a few days,” said Tierney.
“They were all telling me when I was coming back I'd be right back in with the first team so it was good to have that kind of confidence in me. That was a lift because at the time I had only been around the first team for a few weeks.
“Scott Brown and Craig Gordon were the first two I heard from, which was great. They wouldn't even have had my number so the fact they went out of their way to get it to do that tells you what kind of people they are.”
If they were the right sort of role models in that instance then, given some of the issues and situations Deila has been dealing with since arriving from Continental Europe and encountering some of the idiosyncrasies of professional sporting life Scottish-style, perhaps others can learn from Tierney when he says of his nutritional intake: “I just get the diet here and follow it as best I can and I am doing quite well with it.”
There has also been a sad opportunity to repay another senior player for his help by offering support to Emilio Izaguirre, his rival for Celtic’s left back slot, as the Honduran mourned the recent death of his compatriot and friend Arnold Peralta, the former Rangers midfielder.
"I asked him about that and how he was," said Tierney.
“We are close... I'm probably one of the closest in the team with Emilio, so we speak about a lot of things. It's good.
"He has been tremendous for me and still is. Last season, I started going up the first-team and when he knew I was left-back he took me and we worked together and gave me tips. I am very grateful for that.”
In other ways Tierney's preference for wearing black boots, having turned down a number of the more colourful options that are in fashion, speaks to him being something of a throwback to better times in Scottish football with his unaffected, robustly brave, high energy approach.
Whether that, in turn, is a sign that Deila is beginning to have some success in developing, rather than changing the prevalent culture, retaining Scottish football's best traits while seeking to rid it of those that have held it back over the past 20 years and more, remains to be seen.
His best chance of doing so may well, however, be with those striving to get to the very top of the game rather than those who are, or already think they are there.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel