Celtic boss Ronny Deila is the right man for the job, says Tom Boyd
Tuesday 9 February 2016 19:30, UK
Former Celtic captain Tom Boyd claims a lot of the criticism levelled at manager Ronny Deila is "unfounded".
Deila's future has been widely debated following the 3-1 League Cup semi-final loss to Ross County and the 2-1 defeat at Aberdeen, with the latter now level on points with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The 2-0 win over Lowland League side East Kilbride in the Scottish Cup on Sunday also did little to appease his detractors but Boyd, who has been named as a new club ambassador alongside former player and manager Davie Hay, has robustly defended Deila.
"I would certainly say he is the man for the job," he said. "Celtic are in a good place, sitting top of the league and still in the Scottish Cup. We moan about the fact that we don't have competition in this league and when we do there seems to be a screaming for the manager's head.
"I don't think I have ever known an intensity of people, press, supporters, calling for the manager's head when we are sitting at the top of the league on goal difference with a game in hand.
"I think there has been an over-reaction and I think it's time that we get behind the club, the manager and the players. There is a level of criticism from media and Celtic supporters, that is unfounded.
"There have been some games that haven't been great but he suffered a little bit in terms of inconsistency of players and inconsistency of selection through injuries and he has probably not managed to get the team that he wants on a regular basis."
Boyd, who played for the Hoops between 1992 and 2003, thinks now is the time for Celtic fans to get behind Deila and said the progress made by nearest challengers Aberdeen deserved respect.
"But it is also doing a disservice to Aberdeen in terms of where they have come from. They have players at this moment in time playing at the peak of their career," he said.
"I don't think you can say anyone other than Leigh Griffiths this season has been at the top of his form (for Celtic). But we are in a fight for the league and this is what you want to see, you want to see it being more competitive.
"I still believe we have the players that will go on and win the league but now is the time to get behind the manager."
Boyd recalled that he moved to Parkhead when they played second-fiddle to rivals Rangers during the Ibrox club's nine-in-a-row years.
"Some Celtic supporters just now are bemoaning the fact that we are not 17 points clear," he said. "I played at a time it was worse. You go back to the 1990s when I first came to Celtic and we weren't doing too well, we were playing against what was arguably Rangers' best team with the players they had at their disposal.
"We weren't even finishing in second place, so we have come a long way since then. We have a club that is run properly, we, hopefully, will win another championship to win five-in-a-row so there is a lot of positives to be taken at this moment in time.
"We don't have a divine right to win every single football match and we count our blessings that we are in a position we are in just now as opposed to where we were in the 90s."
