Celtic full-back Emilio Izaguirre required stitches to his ear following a reaction by team-mate Nadir Ciftci to a challenge in training.
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As it was essentially the usually-placid Izaguirre and not the occasionally-combustible Ciftci who sparked the incident, Deila defended his signing from Dundee United, who left Tannadice with something of a reputation for being a troublemaker. Deila spoke with both players after the incident and both are available for tonight’s Scottish League Cup quarter-final against Heart of Midlothian at Tynecastle. I always say to my players I want 100%.
He received one red card and 11 yellows last season and escaped bans after being cited for violent conduct against Inverness defender Gary Warren and Celtic skipper Scott Brown, who accused him of kicking him in the head. Emilio had to go to the hospital to get a couple of stitches to put it together. It’s been very good lately. A lot of players here have pride and commitment in the game and I think Nadir has really, really gotten better on the pitch.
“It happens in training, the intensity is high”. I talked with both players, they move on.
Ciftci has generally been used a substitute by Deila so far, and he has scored just two goals in his 12 appearances for his new club. “Players should stay on their feet and we talk about that all the time for training”.
“But you have to see it in the big picture as well”.
“I said that we have to protect each other but be intense”.
“They are a good team and we have to be up for the fight first of all”.
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He added: “We have a fantastic atmosphere in the training pitch”.
