Ronny Deila not taking title for granted

Celtic manager Ronny Deila says he is taking nothing for granted despite his side opening a six point gap over rivals Aberdeen at the top of the table following a 4-0 thrashing of the Dons on Sunday.

Jason Denayer, Leigh Griffiths, Gary Mackay-Steven and Stefan Johansen all scored as Celtic put a huge dent in Aberdeen`s title hopes to move a step closer to claiming their fourth Scottish Premiership title in a row.

The Glasgow giants could now extend their lead to nine points if they can claim victory against St Johnstone in their rearranged fixture on Wednesday night.

But after his previous experiences at Norwegian club Stromsgodset, where he twice watched his side fritter away big advantages in title run-ins, Deila refused to concede the title race was over.

"We have put ourselves in a very good position. Now it`s six points and we have the possibility to get nine and we have a huge goal difference as well," the Celtic manager said.

"But I don`t take anything for granted. I`ve been in football for many years now and with my former club we were three times leading in the summer by seven points but it took us three years to win the league.

"So, I know how quickly it can turnaround if you start to lose focus on the right things.

"If we do everything we have done so far for the rest of the season it is going to be very hard for everyone else but anything can happen in football.

"We just have to keep on working in the same way and develop as a team and as individuals."

After bringing Aberdeen`s 13-game unbeaten run to an end, Deila now has his eyes set firmly on continuing their own eight match winning run in the league as well as claiming a historic domestic treble.

"We want to win everything we have entered and we have high goals," the Hoops boss explained.

"There are very important games now coming up; St Johnstone first then Dundee United in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.

"If we are going to win the treble then we need to keep on performing."

Both sides entered the fixture in excellent form, but it was the Dons who started brighter as they took advantage of Celtic`s lethargy following their Thursday night Europa League clash with Inter Milan.

Niall McGinn, Mark Reynolds and Adam Rooney all enjoyed chances before Celtic took the lead against the run of play in the 37th minute from Denayer`s close range header.

A rejuvenated Celtic emerged after the break and Mackay-Steven and Johansen added strikes after Griffiths had expertly despatched a penalty.

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes was despondent after his side`s encouraging start turned sour.

"The intention was always to try and impose ourselves on the game and not sit back and wait for things to happen," McInnes said after his side`s biggest defeat of the season.

"I thought our approach to the game was excellent at the start of it and we had some strong performers in that period.

"We played a lot of the game in Celtic`s final third to try and ask questions of them. We were maybe guilty of not making the most of our opportunities so to lose the first goal from their first corner kick was disappointing.

"From 2-0 Celtic were in complete control of the game and took full advantage of our desperation to get back in it. I think we unravelled with our over enthusiasm and lack of discipline and shape.

"We got really untidy with our work and they exploited that because they`re a good team and they showed exactly why they are top of the league."