RONNY DEILA believes Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond's legacy to Celtic will be ten Scottish top-flight titles in a row.
While the Norwegian admits that Brendan Rodgers has received more financial support from the boardroom than was forthcoming when he was there, he remains hugely complimentary of the way in which these two men run the club and feels that even the Parkhead's support don't always appreciate the expertise they possess.
Celtic are closing in on a sixth successive Scottish crown this weekend, but however long Rodgers chooses to remain at Parkhead, the presence of Lawwell and Desmond at the helm means that Deila can't see Rangers reclaiming supremacy before they have made it into double figures. He will always take pride in the part he played in landing titles number four and five.
"I do think they will do it," said Deila, now managing Valerenga in his homeland. "It is going to be tough, Rangers will do everything to stop it, of course they will. They have four years to try to break it. But I hope it happens, of course I do. And it would be great to be part of that. I have only good memories.
"Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond for me are people with dignity, great, great leaders," he added. "There was unbelievable safety working with those people. The experience which Peter has, I don't think even that Celtic people understand how much he does.
"He has stayed there for 15, 16 years now and I learned so much from him, and from Dermot Desmond as well. Dermot is tough but at the same time, he is fair. He gives people a chance. They both have Celtic in their heart, they love the club. You just have to look at what Peter and Dermot have achieved in the period they have been at Celtic – titles, Champions League, the UEFA Cup final."
If the backdrop to Deila's arrival were concerns from manager Neil Lennon about budget cuts, and his time there saw the club struggle to replace big name departures such as Virgil van Dijk, the Norwegian accepts that the purse strings have been loosened a little on big wages for the likes of Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair for the first season in which Rangers have been in the top flight.
"When I see the players that Brendan is getting in, I think they cost more money now but I knew what I was coming into," said Deila. "When I came into Celtic it was about changing the culture at the club. Going away from buying the best player, to developing them. They could have gone for 110 different managers who wanted that job but they went for me because they wanted to think differently.
"Running Celtic is a tough job. There are so many people who care about it. But I was so impressed with the way they organised trips, collected money for charity. What an unbelievable club."
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