Deila: McInnes can get as angry as he wants to be
Collins comments that players in Champions League qualifiers are better than those in the SPFL Premiership may have been delivered in a roundabout manner but the accuracy of his words can’t be disputed.
Last season Astra, Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb provided Celtic with tougher tests in the Europa League than Aberdeen, Dundee United and Dundee delivered domestically.
Celtic’s recent decision to buy up domestic players clearly impacts on the quality of opponents but in the last half dozen years only Aberdeen’s wins over Groningen and Rijeka plus St Johnstone’s win over Rosenburg have defied the odds.
Hard luck stories are to be found in abundance but can’t be converted into European co-efficient points with Deila at ease defending the home truths delivered by his assistant.
“You have to be honest and tell it how it is to the fans and everyone else,” the Celtic boss stated. “That’s what newspapers are all about, to? give information to the people.
“If it is hard to say that is it harder to play in the Champions League and you get punished more there than you do in the Scottish league, then McInnes can be as angry as he wants for me. Because that is just stupid.
“It is a truth he said himself about the team from Croatia. You get tested more defensively in the Champions League and you get punished more for mistakes.
“That’s not to disrespect Scottish football, it’s just truth. We meet the best teams in Europe. I think Derek McInnes agrees – he said the team they played from Croatia tested them like no other team has done. So I think we all agree. This is creating a conflict that is not there.
“It is such a stupid thing to discuss. If the coaches in Scotland sat down and discussed this, we would not argue. It would be over after a minute but because we are making an issue of this, it is just a circus.”