Celtic manager Ronny Deila has admitted that it was ‘hard’ to work under Roy Hodgson.
In a lecture given in Norway, Celtic boss Ronny Deila has admitted that he didn’t like playing under Roy Hodgson at Viking.
Deila, 39, became Celtic manager last summer, replacing the outgoing Neil Lennon despite being a virtual unknown in British football.
The Norwegian had won one league title and one cup as manager of Stromsgodset, earning a great reputation in Scandinavia.
So far, Deila has impressed as Celtic manager, though it did take him some time to win over some of his critics after a tough start to life in Glasgow.
With the Scottish League Cup already won, Deila is now closing in on the Scottish Premiership title, which is the expectation of any Celtic manager.
Deila has brought a different, higher tempo brand of football to Celtic, and he in fact gave a lecture in Norway all about his footballing philosophy, which has recently been translated on YouTube.
It not only explains how Deila tries to manage his players, but he also revealed how he disliked playing under Roy Hodgson when they were together at Viking Stavanger.
“I experienced Roy Hodgson. In 2005, he trained Viking when I was a player,” said Deila. “He was hard. I was glad I was 30. Everytime I entered the pitch, I thought: ‘Today I must not be seen. Today I will not make mistakes.’
“My job was to keep clean. I was anxious before every game. I never looked forward to it. But you have to be mentally strong as a footballer. In some cultures it is like that; it is hard,” he added.
Hodgson is of course now England manager, but Deila appears to have moulded his own managerial style in the total opposite to Hodgson, judging from those comments – and that’s probably just the way Celtic fans like it right now.
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