RONNY Deila has consigned his Molde misery to the dustbin of history. Most things in modern football may be analysed to the nth degree, but the Norwegian has perhaps wisely reached the conclusion that the images of the 3-1 Europa League reverse at a sodden Aker Stadium a fortnight ago were just too painful and traumatic to pore over again.
“Sometimes you have games you don’t look at afterwards," said Deila. "You just take it, crush it up and throw it into the garbage. There are so many mistakes in a game that it’s not possible to go through it all and that was one of those games. That was not Celtic, it was not something we could be proud of or stand by."
This was Celtic, though. Deila's Celtic. And particularly disturbing, of course, for the Norwegian was the fact his bad day at the office unfolded on home turf, all played out in front of friends and family and selected members of the Scandinavian football media. Most things which could go wrong did go wrong during the 3-1 defeat against the former Stromsgodset manager's historic rivals but it is not so much revenge against Molde which Deila and Celtic seek as redemption from their own mistakes.
"Games like that have happened before and will happen again, but we have to turn it around and show our better side," he said. "It was nothing about tactics, it was about being ready for the game and we were not. We looked very uncomfortable on the pitch that day and everything was sideways. Everyone here knows I don’t like sideways football.
"We were not at it when we started and I couldn’t see in the end how we were going to win that game. There were so many key players who performed under their level. It was the team who were not there and that’s my responsibility. That’s what we have to turn around."
Deila's remedy for his side's ills is to order up more of the penetrative football which his team seem to have little problem exhibiting domestically. With Scott Brown out with his knee problem, Stefan Johansen and Nir Bitton are likely to anchor the midfield, with Kris Commons and James Forrest likely to flank Tom Rogic off striker Leigh Griffiths. Kieran Tierney may or may not be preferred to Emilio Izaguirre at left back. “We killed Aberdeen because we penetrated them more and went straight at them," said Deila. "That’s what I want to see against Molde."
While a different Celtic should be glimpsed than a fortnight ago, in formation and attitude Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Norwegians are likely to be very similar to their old selves. Based on a stubborn defence and rapid counter attacks, Molde may yet sneak into next season's Europa League after a disappointing season in the Tippeligaen. They are dangerous opponents who know a win would be sufficient to book their place into the last 32, but while Celtic were out of their comfort zone in the rain lashed Aker Stadium, now Deila hopes Molde will feel less than comfortable in front of a large, noisy crowd at Celtic Park.
“It was difficult circumstances in Molde," said Deila. "It was an artificial pitch, which we are not really used to and you could see that. It was raining, we were uncomfortable on the ball. We tried to drive the game and they counter-attacked us.
“I was very clear and honest with my players about it afterwards," he added. "You see the big picture. If it was lack of energy, then don’t talk about tactics. You see Mourinho now when you see Chelsea. You can find a lot of mistakes but you see players who are tired. So for me, it is about getting energy and belief back. That can be mental or physical. We have sorted it out since then and now it’s about keeping on doing the same things and believing in what we are doing."
Deila is a fervent believer in his system but feels Scottish teams don't always test out the reliability of his defence - reshaped since the departure of Virgil van Dijk and Jason Denayer - to the full. Indeed, with Jozo Simunovic no better than 50/50 with an ankle knock, he may have to field the same back four which played in Norway.
"In Scotland we attack and stop counter attacks - no teams are questioning us the other way," said Deila. "I am not saying they are bad, but that is how the games are. When somebody is going at us, we need to work more on this in training and get more organised. How many times have we played against counter attacking teams? Aberdeen are quite good at counter attacking as well.
“We don’t change our style of play," he added. "But we also have tactical things inside our philosophy, so it’s not every time we are going to press high. The biggest challenge we have is that we don’t have the consistency of selection in central defence we had last year when we had the best defence in Scottish history. Of course that has an effect, especially when you meet good teams that can give you harder tests."
Deila was speaking as the new SPFL manager of the month, a bauble he accepted in rather rueful manner considering his October contained his Molde misery. “I don’t think there can be any other job where you would get an award like that in a month when you had a result like that!" he said. "You get embarrassed when you get it."
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