Ronny Deila was delighted to see Celtic take full advantage of their Champions League reprieve.
A fortnight after opening a post-mortem into Celtic’s Champions League ko from Legia Warsaw Deila can confidently look forward to steering his side into the group stage of the money spinning competition.
Last night’s 1-1 draw against Maribor was far from the perfect performance but after the mauling against Legia Deila was pleased with the way that his side handled the Slovenian champions.
“It is true we learned our lesson in Warsaw,” the hoops boss stated. “It was very early, I had only been at the club a few weeks. We tried things and they didn’t turn out so good but it is not only about the system.
“The players are fitter now, more confident and know more what to do on the pitch. They know what is expected. A lot of things went into that performance tonight, that’s why it’s getting better.”
Deila added: “I am very pleased with the performance against Maribor. We were well prepared and we knew what we were going to meet. The players were fantastic for 90 minutes. There are things to work on but we are looking like a team now. We are working hard and creating chances. Tonight 1-1 was a good result but I think we could have won the game.
“We were organised and disciplined. We needed to be because Maribor are always dangerous in the way they play. I think Maribor is a very good team. We knew we were going to meet a good team and we knew how they would go into the game. We wanted to be compact and try to be good with counter attacks.
“The second leg is going to be a tough game. It could be that they are more dangerous away than at home because they will play in the same way. We have to play with the right balance and attack them the right way but, of course, we have the advantage of playing at Celtic Park and that’s what we are going to use to get through to the group stages. I have a good feeling we can reach it.”
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