It’s a funny old game indeed. Less than a week ago, according to reports, Roy Keane was on the verge of becoming Celtic manager. Martin O’Neill, Keane’s current boss at the Republic of Ireland and a man who enjoyed success at Parkhead a decade ago, did little to contradict that notion publicly, but a few days on, Keane is going nowhere, and Celtic have plumped for an unknown Norwegian instead.
Ronny Deila? Who? Or perhaps more pertinently, why? Celtic fans, having been rejected by Keane, had assumed that the far from unimpressive quartet of former English Premiership managers in the shape of Malky MacKay, Davie Moyes, Owen Coyle or Steve Clarke, would represent the final shortlist.
And then, before you could say ‘I’ve never heard of him,’ Deila rolled into town.
To be fair, for all Deila is something of an unknown quantity within these shores, the 38-year-old has earned a burgeoning reputation as something of a rising star in his homeland. This is due to his sterling work with Strømsgodset, where he claimed a first league title for the club in forty three years.
Not, it should be stressed, did Deila only drift into Celtic’s radar in recent days in light of Keane’s snub to the club’s overtures. By all accounts, he was being considered as a potential assistant to Neil Lennon in light of Johan Mjällby’s recent departure. However, Celtic were obviously so impressed with Deila that he was considered to be of the requisite calibre to move directly to the top job when the Irishman elected to leave Glasgow.
Predictably, Celtic’s chief executive Peter Lawwell described the new manager as the man who was ‘top of the list’ of the candidates available, despite Roy Keane’s very public rejection of the post.
Lawwell did little to belittle comparisons that have been made between the new manager and Jürgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, although it’s difficult to imagine that Deila can have a comparable impact on the European stage to the charismatic German.
So, as noted earlier, why Deila? Of course, many have already suggested – perhaps churlishly – that the old Celtic biscuit tin mentality is to the fore once again. In other words, he was the cheap option, given he would surely not have been on a King’s ransom of a salary in Norway, and therefore would hardly have been in a strong negotiating position when the bean counters were doing their worst as the contract was being inked.
For all that appears a cynical notion on behalf of those who would have wanted a more established name in the hot seat, in all probability Deila will almost certainly not have attracted the sort of salary the likes of Moyes, Clarke et al, would have commanded.
But, then again, Lawwell and his fellow Board members would be entitled to believe that, given their club’s complete dominance at the summit of the Scottish game these days, they actually have little to lose in appointing a man who is relatively unproven.
Equally, they could reasonably claim that they have secured the services of a hungry and ambitious young manager, as opposed to another who could possibly have considered Celtic as little more than an opportunity to restore his reputation in light of a very high profile sacking in English football.
If Deila takes Celtic into the group stages of the Champions League once more this coming season, and secures (as he surely will) a fourth consecutive league title, he will be hailed a success. One who may well then attract suitors with cash to splash elsewhere.
Fail to trouble Europe beyond the autumn and – worse still – contrive to somehow relinquish the Scottish Premiership title, he’ll be shipped out, at minimal cost, with a shrug depicting a brave venture gone badly wrong, Tony Mowbray style.
Interestingly, few associated with Celtic’s well-being have bemoaned the failure to land Keane, a man who, for all his association with (and boyhood support for) Celtic is clear, is considered by others to be a divisive and somewhat diffident character with a surprisingly modest managerial record in any case. It’s not really a stretch to concur with that perspective.
And so, whether the appointment ultimately proves to be a successful one, it must be recognised that the capture of Deila certainly caught everyone out, including those supposedly in the know. His was not a name that featured on any list when Lennon’s resignation was confirmed, so the element of surprise at least gives Celtic the advantage. Whether it proves to be a passing one remains to be seen.