All Jackie’s CV needs now is a win over Celtic

When news of Ronny Deila’s appointment at Celtic broke in the summer, Dundee United’s relief was palpable.

With a 10-year playing career at Celtic Park behind him, along with a dynamic, attacking managerial philosophy, Tangerines gaffer Jackie McNamara appeared a natural successor to Neil Lennon and those inside Tannadice were worried.

But as the days following Lennon’s departure turned into weeks with no approach from Parkhead and as the focus shifted from McNamara to Malky Mackay, Henrik Larsson, Roy Keane and finally, from nowhere, Deila a great weight was lifted.

United had kept their man. The Tangerines rejoiced. The adventure was still on.

For McNamara, being linked with the Hoops was the culmination of a genuinely dazzling rise to managerial prominence a journey from caretaker boss at Partick Thistle to a potential Celtic manager in less than four years.

And even the quickest glance at his achievements over the period proves that the hype, far from being overblown, was entirely justified.

With zero experience behind him he helped transform the Jags from penniless Championship strugglers into a team of Premiership contenders.

With just eight games to get the job done after swapping Thistle for Dundee United, he dragged the stuttering Tangerines into the top half of the Premiership.

Having lost top players like Johnny Russell, Jon Daly, Willo Flood and Barry Douglas in his first summer at Tannadice, he then built a youthful new United side from scratch and drove them to a fourth placed finish and a Scottish Cup Final.

In short, nearly everything he has touched has turned to gold and he has done it all on a modest budget, without fuss, and with an unwavering commitment to playing attractive, forward-thinking, eyeball-pleasing football.

When it’s spelled out in black and white, it’s easy to see why the Hoops would covet United’s gaffer.

But there’s one thing he has not managed to do

In eight attempts, McNamara has yet to claim a single victory over Celtic as a manager.

And when it comes to the question of whether he can make it ninth time lucky in today’s clash, the stats make for grim reading.

Across all of McNamara’s games against the Hoops, United have conceded more than three times as many goals as they have scored.

Then there’s the question of form, and while United are motoring along nicely and certainly winning more than they are losing Celtic, with 10 consecutive domestic wins behind them, are belatedly beginning to look dominant.

Much was made of Ronny Deila’s poor start at Parkhead. Rightly so, too.

Given the resources he has at his disposal, the soft underbelly displayed by his side going into October was worthy of examination and of criticism.

Deila arrived in Glasgow declaring his intention to transform Celtic into exponents of the kind of high-pressing, high-intensity game that saw tiny Stromsgodsets become Norwegian Champions on his watch.

Within weeks, it was as plain as day that the plan wasn’t working. But to Deila’s credit, instead of trying to cram square pegs into round holes on a point of principle, he changed his approach, and it has paid off.

As their European forays have shown, however, Celtic remain a team who look vulnerable against top opposition, and that ought to be enough to give Deila pause before facing-off against United because on their day there is no question that is what the Tangerines are.

Jackie McNamara has built an attacking machine at Tannadice that is unstoppable once it clicks into high gear, and in that respect, it could be argued that he is much further down the road than Deila.

If he keeps United moving in the right direction, it will only become more difficult to shake the feeling that McNamara is destined to one day lead the Hoops.

But in the meantime, with Deila’s tenure yielding results and with plenty of unfinished business to conduct at United he will have to content himself with trying to beat them.