RONNY DEILA has thrown down the gauntlet to rival Age Hareide to back up his boasts as Celtic and Malmo battle for Champions League glory.
In May, the veteran Norwegian coach bragged that his Swedish champs were better than Celtic, as well as Nordic neighbours Molde, Rosenborg and Copenhagen.
Now Deila claims Wednesday night will prove whether Hareide’s team can walk the walk as well as their manager can talk the talk.
And he’s confident the Hoops can make him eat his words.
Hareide had claimed: “We are better than Celtic, better than Rosenborg. In Norway, Molde might come close but we are better. We are better than FC Copenhagen.”
But as he prepared his side to battle for the group stages worth £15million to the club, Deila said: “We’ll see on Wednesday. That’s when they have to show they are better than those teams.
“European matches are tough – you win or lose on the smallest details.
“We’ll fight to show Hareide is wrong. The pressure is on him after what he said.
“We will find out on Wednesday if they are better than teams in Scotland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.”
Ultimately Deila is more concerned about his own team than Hareide’s – and believes that if they perform it won’t matter how inspirational his countryman is.
He said: “I’m respectful of Malmo but I believe we can show we’re a better team and go through.”
Norwegian TV will show both legs of the clash between their top two managerial exports live and Deila admitted: “It is a positive thing in Norway. Two Norwegians are fighting for the Champions League and there will be a lot of hype.
“It’s special to play a Scandinavian team – it doesn’t give me less of an appetite for sure.”
Deila still accords his rival respect and Hareide has won league titles in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, 15 years apart at Helsingborgs and Malmo.
The Celtic boss said: “The job he has done at Malmo has been fantastic. He knows what he’s doing, he’s a good motivator.”
That respect is mutual and Hareide claims the pressure of being Celtic manager has matured Deila as a gaffer.
Deila burst on to the managerial scene with stunning success at tiny Stromsgodset.
After winning the title he stripped off and threw his clothes into the crowd.
So far at Parkhead, he has settled for the “Ronny Roar” and Hareide says that’s a sign of his new-found maturity.
The 61-year-old said: “Ronny has matured but what happened in the past just showed his enthusiasm. That’s the way he is.
“I liked that he showed his character because so many people are quiet, calm and just stand there.
“Football is about feelings and you have to show them when the time is right. That’s what fans want.
“Managing Celtic is not easy. It’s a fantastic, big club in Europe.
“Ronny has matured a lot under the pressure of managing a huge club and I’m really pleased for him.”
Deila knows how much the Champions League group stage is worth – but won’t be banging on chief executive Peter Lawwell’s door asking for cash if they get there.
When asked how much of the £15m he would want to strengthen for the groups, he said: “I don’t think like that. Some bosses maybe do.
“Those millions will be spent on the whole club to make the right things to keep us going.
“Just because we get more money, we won’t just spend more. If we do, then salaries just go up.
“This money will allow us to build the club further.
“We have to keep thinking how we get good Scottish kids in and build the foundation to get into the Champions League every year.
“Of course, I will get more money to spend on players as well. Is £3m the upper limit? You never know. The most important thing is that the players have the potential to be worth more.”
Whether last season’s flurry of loan signings was the right thing to do is debatable.
There are few better examples of the riskiness of that strategy than Deila’s compatriot Jo Inge Berget.
Signed on a long-term loan from Cardiff, when he hadn’t kicked a ball in five months, the Norwegian was a flop at Celtic.
Now at Malmo, he’s top scorer this season and set up two of the three goals against Red Bull Salzburg that sealed the tie with Celts.
Deila still believes he signed a good player – but to the wrong club in the wrong country at the wrong time.
He sighed: “Jo Inge is talented– maybe Sweden suits him better than British football. He’ll be motivated against us – but we all are.
“We have experience and quality, and have gone a long period now with a lot of good results.
“If we are at our best, we have a very good chance of going through.”
Malmo made the group stage last season and have beaten Salzburg two years in a row, something Celtic failed to do in the Europa League last term. Players have come and gone but Deila said: “Malmo had a transition period but are more settled now.
“Their strength is in their unit. They’re organised, more physical and direct than Qarabag were.
“It will be a different type of game – more tactical, defensive, counter-attacking – and I don’t think that’s a negative thing for us.”
The fact that it will be Norway v Norway in the dugout doesn’t worry Deila either.
Hareide may have put his fellow boss’ hackles up with his comments in May but Deila insists neither has a psychological advantage.
He said: “We are different. Especially offensively. But we have things in common because we were brought up in the same system.”
