Deila only focused on Celtic

adamhigginsuk
Jul 22, 2014
2 min read

Ready for the task: Deila is concentrating on guiding Celtic into the third qualifying round of the Champions League (Picture from SNS Group)

CELTIC boss Ronny Deila says he is only focused on his own team ahead of the second leg of their Champions League qualifier with KR Reykjavik.

The Icelandic champions will be hoping to recover from a 1-0 deficit from last week's first leg and halt Celtic's European progress at Murrayfield on Tuesday.

But Deila is unconcerned by KR's approach and insists he is only thinking about Celtic's preparations as they bid to reach the third qualifying round.

"I think KR will be better here than at home but it’s all about us," the Norwegian told the club's official website.

"If we're good with the ball they will have to defend. It’s the same with them. If they are good with the ball we will have to defend but we hope to try to play in their half.

"They need goals and will have to attack more so we have to play with good balance."

Deila has already hailed the state of the newly-laid surface at Edinburgh's Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby, which is staging the game while Celtic Park is in use at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

"The pitch is fantastic so I don’t think there will be any problem playing in Edinburgh. It was a small stadium in Iceland with little support and the players will have the support which is important here and the pitch is perfect, so no excuses," he said.

Deila also heaped praise on Craig Gordon - the club's only summer signing so far - and believes the former Hearts goalkeeper can re-discover his best form.

"I hope he will be competition for the number one place. We have four keepers and when you compare them to together to others I think we have one of the best groups in the world," he added.

"Craig is an experienced keeper. You saw when he played how calm he was and he had a good performance on Saturday which makes me happy.

"I think that made him happy too and we'll do everything to get him back to the level he was before."

Celtic will be without captain Scott Brown, James Forrest and Anthony Stokes for KR's visit as the Hoops seek to complete the job after dominating the first 90 minutes of the tie.

CELTIC'S 2013-14 JOURNEY TO GROUP STAGES: