It took an unbelievable goal to stop Celtic, says Deila

Under-pressure Celtic boss Ronny Deila was impressed by his team’s 2-2 draw at Hearts on Sunday, saying the hosts required an “unbelievable goal” to deny them victory.

The Norwegian manager has been under scrutiny after overseeing a disappointing European campaign that saw the Scottish champions exit the Europa League at the group stage without winning a match.

Domestically, Celtic had lost to Motherwell last time out and they were denied a bounce-back victory by a stunning Osman Sow goal in stoppage-time at Tynecastle.

Despite dropping points and seeing their lead over Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership increase to just one point, Deila saw plenty of positives.

“We were in control but there is always going to be some stress when you are 2-1 up in that kind of atmosphere,” he said.

“Sometimes you need to give credit to an opponent when you see strikes like that. That was the hit of the year. There might have been a slight deflection but Craig Gordon had no chance. It was an unbelievable goal.

“But it was a good performance. There was a good team spirit. I was disappointed against Motherwell but today I got my old team back again.

“You need to get a performance days later and we got a good response against Hearts. We were hard working, well organised and played it forward with quick passing – that is the way I want to see my team play.

“The situation is very hard as a manager because the pressure from outside is so great.  If I use all my frustration on the players it will make it even worse. 

“The important thing is seeing energy, players enjoying their football and willing to fight for each other. When you coach clubs like this it is important to allow players to rest as the pressure is high.”