Celtic manager Ronny Deila confident ahead of Malmo clash
Sunday 23 August 2015 15:21, UK
Celtic manager Ronny Deila believes the options he has at his disposal will be important ahead of his side’s Champions League play-off second leg with Malmo.
The Scottish champions warmed up for their trip to Sweden with an impressive 3-1 victory over Dundee United on Saturday, despite Deila making nine changes to his starting line-up.
Only Emilio Izaguirre and Leigh Griffiths retained their places following Celtic's 3-2 win over Malmo in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs.
Griffiths even rejected the opportunity of a rest in order to continue his goalscoring form following his double against the Malmo and he did so within 17 minutes at Tannadice.
Deila was also given much food for thought as several players boosted their prospects of involvement, with Charlie Mulgrew, Kris Commons and goalscorer Callum McGregor among those to register impressive performances.
Ahead of Tuesday night's second leg at the Swedbank Stadion, Deila was delighted with how his side was shaping up.
"It gives us confidence and it's competition. There is a squad there that is going to go and perform together. We have options in the team and also coming off the bench and that's going to be important," he said.
The Norwegian also handed a debut to Scott Allan, who looked confident on the ball in his 23 minutes playing in left midfield.
Deila added: "I have only seen him for two or three days in training so it's a bit early but he had the confidence to come on and show talent.
"The system we are playing is a little bit different to what we are used to so it will take a bit of time to get into that but when you have the skills and understanding of the game then you have a very good chance to fit in."
With Mikael Lustig a doubt for Malmo with a hamstring injury, Deila handed Saidy Janko the chance to shine at right-back.
The former Manchester United defender produced a mixed display and Deila admits the 20-year-old still needs time to fully settle into life in the senior ranks.
Deila said: "He is a great prospect for us - very strong and quick and offensively he caused them a lot of problems in the first 35 to 40 minutes.
"I think he got tired after a while and he needs to work a little bit on discipline and positioning. But there are a lot of good things to work on and a lot of talent out there."
