Wednesday 20 April 2016 10:59, UK
Sky Sports pundit Andy Walker believes Celtic manager Ronny Deila is on the brink of losing his job after the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers.
Deila refused to comment on his future after watching Celtic lose 5-4 on penalties to their city rivals at Hampden Park on Sunday.
The Norwegian, who was appointed as Neil Lennon's successor in June 2014, has come under fire from certain sections of the Celtic support this season, with the club's failures in European competition a particular reason for their disharmony.
With Rangers set to join the Scottish elite from next season following their promotion from the Scottish Championship, Walker feels Celtic will part company with Deila as they attempt to maintain their dominance of the top flight.
When asked what the defeat may mean for Deila, Walker told Sky Sports Now: "It leaves him on the brink. I don't think he can survive this, I don't think there's any appetite to get rid of him immediately, but you have to look at Ronny Deila's time overall as a Celtic manager.
"What has he done? Where are the big victories? Where are notable victories that he has come up with? Would any Celtic supporter look at this current group of Celtic players and think they would get through the Champions League qualifiers, if they as expected go on and secure the title for the fifth time?
"I don't think this is a group of players that can get through a Champions League qualifier and that's really where Celtic want to be.
"They are currently being compared to the likes of Aberdeen and Hearts. Rangers will be up next season and I think Mark Warburton is right, he is a smart guy and they'll need a lot of investment to compete with Celtic and Aberdeen.
"I don't think he is fooled, he has got the basis of a really good team, but the biggest difference for me was the strength and depth. I think Celtic have a stronger squad, but I don't think they utilised their players very well and I think that is one of the main reasons that Ronny Deila won't survive this."
Walker also accused Celtic captain Scott Brown, as well as a number of other first-team players, of being unfit and believes Rangers' superior fitness was a telling factor at the end.
"I think you have to look at Celtic overall in 120 minutes, they were not good enough," added the former Celtic and Scotland striker.
"When you've got players like Scott Brown, who are completely out of form and unfit, and he still gets a place in the team, then I think that's a problem.
"You look at Celtic overall, you've got Tom Rogic, who came on as a substitute and made a good impact, Kieran Tierney played well, Erik Sviatchenko played well, but apart from that you are not really giving plus marks to any other Celtic player.
"For me, Rangers deserved their win. They played a lot of good football and they were a fitter side than Celtic yesterday, that was telling."
