Celtic after Europa League redemption not revenge

Ronny Deila is looking for Europa League redemption rather than revenge when Celtic host Molde on Thursday evening.

A calamitous 3-1 defeat by the Norwegian outfit at the Aker Stadion a fortnight ago, following 2-2 draws against Fenerbahce and Ajax, left the Hoops bottom of Group A with two points from three games.

At the pre-match press conference at Celtic Park, Deila ruled out the suggestion he might be looking for revenge but admitted it was a “very important game to win to get through in the group”.

The Norwegian, who revealed defender Jozo Simunovic was a doubt with a foot injury, said: "I don't think revenge is a good word.

“We want to step up and show everybody what we are capable of doing.

“We have done that the whole week and now we need to get the best out of ourselves on the pitch.

“We deserved more against Fenerbahce and I think we played well down in Ajax, where we had control until we got a man sent off.

“The performance in Molde was way under our level and that is the most disappointing thing.

“We should have had more out of the other two matches but we need to perform at that level if we are going to beat Molde.

“It (qualification) could happen with a draw as well but it puts us in a much better position if we win.”

Despite the desperate need for a win, Deila is confident his players will approach the game with a calmness.

“They know what they are playing for,” said the former Stromsgodset boss. “They know what we want.

“Every game is like this. We have lost three out of 25 or something so far this season and the players know how to react to these things.

“We need to put in a good performance.

“We need to be very clear in how we want to attack and want to defend and then we know that we have the skills to win the game.

“I expect the same as it was in Norway.

“They are a very hard-working team, a team which has played together for a long time with a consistency in culture and style of play.

“They will try to hurt us on the break and defend very deep and compact.

“Every time we play there is a feeling of ‘we have to win’ and that is great.

“You could be at a club when you win a game and think that is fantastic and relax for a couple of weeks.

“But here it’s in the culture that we want to win trophies, we want to do well in Europe. It’s a fantastic journey and I really love it.”

Following their return from Molde, Celtic comprehensively beat Dundee United 5-0 and Aberdeen 3-1 in the Ladbrokes Premiership and sit six points ahead of Hearts at the top of the table.

And last Wednesday night’s 2-1 victory over the Gorgie side at Tynecastle took the Parkhead men into the Scottish League Cup semi-final, a response to Europa League adversity which has delighted Deila.

“I’m very pleased,” he said. “We have shown many times that after a bad result we have bounced back.

“The three performances after Molde have been very good. We’ve scored a lot of goals and also defensively we’ve been much better. So we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

Deila revealed that Simunovic picked up a foot knock against the Dons, while skipper Scott Brown is out for the third successive game.

He said: “Jozo has been tested. We are not sure yet if he is ready but he has a chance to get ready tomorrow.

“He got a knock in the last tackle he had and he has some pain in his foot but it’s getting better every day so we have a hope that he will be ready tomorrow.

“Scott Brown is not going to play tomorrow but everything looks good. He was running at training today and should be ready after the international break.”