RONNY DEILA is off the hook for now.
Celtic’s draw against Ajax was a reminder just how quickly things can change in football.
Make no mistake, had the Scottish champions gone down to a heavy defeat in the Amsterdam ArenA, the pressure would have been right on the Hoops manager.
The failure to reach the Champions League group stages plus the fact they trail Aberdeen by five points in the League has left the manager vulnerable.
Another knock in the Europa League would have led to serious dissent among the support and disquiet in the boardroom.
As it is, their battling 2-2 draw has restored confidence throughout the club. It was an impressive result against one of the great names of the European game.
With Emilio Izaguirre sent off for a second bookable offence, Deila can claim it should have been even better.
A huge bonus, too, was the victory of Molde over Fenerbahce in the group’s other fixture, a result absolutely no-one anticipated.
So suddenly from being expected to struggle, Celtic find themselves in pole position to qualify.
Fans who hadn’t been sure about this tournament will now be looking forward to big Celtic Park nights against Ajax and Fenerbahce.
I think that will have a knock on affect in the Premiership too.
The crowd that will turn up for this afternoon’s match against Dundee will be in far better humour than they might otherwise been.
And by the end of the day, they could be feeling even better about life.
The Dark Blues are a decent side and I am sure they will make things tough for the champions.
At the same time, the most likely result is a home win.
Aberdeen’s game at Hearts, though, is much tougher to predict. Having made a perfect start to the League season, the Dons deserve to go in as favourites.
They are strong from front to back and look a very solid group. This will be a significant test for them, however.
They got over one big hurdle last week when beating Celtic at Pittodrie.
That was a hugely important result.
Where last season the Hoops record from the head-to-heads between the sides was plus-12 points, the best they can now do is plus-six over their rivals from the North East.
If Derek McInnes can lead his team to another win against probably the country’s third strongest team, any remaining doubts about Aberdeen’s credentials as credible title challengers will have gone.
From the point of view of the neutral that would be a good thing.
Even this early into the season, it is looking a fascinating race. One capable of throwing up intriguing sub plots every week.
The part played by Kris Commons in the two goals scored by the visitors in Amsterdam, for instance, will not have escaped the attention of few Celtic watchers.
Wisdom has it the former Scotland internationalist is not a favourite of the manager, who gives every indication of valuing graft over guile.
As Commons reminded his boss again, each has its place.
It would be no surprise were he to be rewarded with extra game time in a team that needs to build its own momentum.
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