Jim McGuinness has explained his new role as part of Ronny Deila’s backroom team.
The 42-year-old stepped down as coach of Donegal’s GAA squad after the recent All-Ireland Final to work full-time at Celtic.
McGuinness is one of the best known figures in Irish sport and was singled out for an enhanced role at Celtic almost as soon as Deila took over from Neil Lennon.
After two seasons assessing and working with players in the Development squad the Irishman is now working alongside the first team on a daily basis.
“Since the new manager has come in he wants me to work pretty much exclusively now with the first team,” he explained. “I work on the psychology things with players.
“We are very like-minded in our approach. Other than the fact I was very defensive and he is very offensive, the principles are exactly the same.
“And that is what he wants, high-octane football, energy, workrate, a lot of preparation and a lot of offensive energy going forward – taking the game to the opposition. That’s the style of play he brought from his previous club and he wants to implement that.
“If you take that philosophy forward there are a lot of demands within it. The energy levels can sometimes become a problem so the key thing for a manager is that the players are happy and have high energy levels.
“If you want to train at 100 per cent every day and work hard every day and want high energy on the pitch and in drills then you have to be demanding. That’s why my role has become more important. If it was a situation where he wasn’t demanding that much it would be a bit easier for the players.”