Asked if he is interested in the post, the Scot replied: “Lots of jobs will interest me and, as I said, Celtic is a great club”. “I’m going to wait until the summer time and make a decision then, so there is no hurry”.
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“I know for a fact that when I wanted the job I was not alone”.
Deila won the double in his first season, but an exit always seemed likely after their disappointing Cup campaigns domestically and in Europe.
Lennon, who led Celtic to three league titles, two Scottish Cup wins and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League during his four years in charge, is out of work after his ill-starred spell as Bolton manager was terminated last month.
“It is easy to say this player is bad and this player is bad”. I was thinking, ‘why aren’t they pressing?
“There is always a fall-out when you don’t qualify for the Champions League, there is a bit of a hangover”.
“Of course I’m really enjoying learning from Martin [O’Neill] but the best place for me to learn is back in the [managerial] hot seat, not so much in the long term but in the shorter term”.
“I am delighted that they have done it the way they have done”, he said.
“I feel no bitterness”.
That may go against the rumour mill, which points to a significant fallout with Kris Commons.
Deila’s position had attracted increasing speculation, especially in the wake of the cup defeat by Rangers. “It has been like that all the time”, Deila said. You have to live with the pressure of winning every week and bringing silverware.
It has been suggested that the board of directors at the Scottish giants have strongly influenced player arrivals and departures over the manager’s head. “There is absolutely no problem with Kris”.
“Let me tell you, Celtic is a brilliant football club”.
“It is small details in football”.
‘My stats are not that bad.
Though Zelalem has found himself out of the side in recent weeks he made a pleasing cameo from the bench in the semi-final with Celtic on Sunday and he is keen to embrace the challenge of playing in such high-pressure Derby games.
“I would like to thank everyone who has supported me so well at the club”.
‘But we have lost the important games.
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Deila, though, admitted that some Celtic players will be happy that he is leaving. So I am sure David Moyes would seriously think about it. I want Celtic to do well as they possibly can and that is other people’s decision. It has been like that all the time.
