RETAINING focus as a Celtic manager is tough enough, as Ronny Deila acknowledges, admitting regular recourse to life coaches.

Toss in the hand-grenade of a potentially-explosive fixture with a three-month fuse, as the men charged with drawing the League Cup semi-finals did at the weekend, and the phrase: You ain't seen nothing yet, comes readily to mind.

The Norwegian is just getting used to the idea that the meeting with Rangers at Hampden next year is going to be all-consuming for a football nation starved of what, for a century-and-a-quarter, had been a staple diet, and, to some, what sustained them through many lean years.

However, intrigued as this intelligent man is by the eccentric excitement which has broken out since the draw was made at tea-time on Saturday, Deila knows he must put it to one side and concentrate on what is, for now, most important.

That's getting his Celtic side into the knockout stages of the Europa League and to the top of the SPFL Premiership, a position they have not held during his time in charge.

By the end of this week, they could achieve both goals.

It would require a win in Romania on Thursday, while Salzburg defeat Partizan in Belgrade, a combination of results which would see the Hoops and the Austrians reach 10 points in Group D and secure the two qualifications spots with two games still to go in which to determine who progresses as group winners.

To reach the summit of the Premiership, that would have to be followed by a victory at Aberdeen on Sunday, Dundee United failing to win at Motherwell on Friday and Hamilton doing likewise when they travel to meet Inverness on Saturday.

Understandably, Deila is focusing only on what he and his players can control, and that is their own results.

To that end, extending their current five-game winning streak - the latest victory coming against Inverness on Saturday when a John Guidetti goal just after the break was enough to separate the teams, despite a spirited late rally by the Highlanders when manager John Hughes finally allowed them to commit to attack - is the aim.

When club fixtures resumed after the last international break, Deila set his Bhoys a target of winning this tranche of seven games before they split to perform their next bout of national service.

Wins over Ross County away, and Astra, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle and Inverness at Parkhead in three different competitions, have set the club on their best run since Deila took over.

Factor in that, prior to this sequence, they had suffered the hammer blow of losing at home to Hamilton, allowing the two-week break for international games to be used by many on the outside as a window through which the new manager's performance could be judged, and it is a winning streak as timely as it is impressive.

Sure, some of the performances have not hit the heights demanded, either by Deila or the fans.

But, first and foremost, Celtic had to make progress in the competitions in which they were competing, and these wins have allowed to them to move into a strong position to do precisely that.

It has been a tough schedule, the Inverness match the culmination of four games in nine days, and Deila beamed: "They have played so many matches, it was hard. I'm so proud of the boys. I think, towards the end, you could see that we got tired.

"In the first half I think we played against the best opponents so far in the league this season. They were well organised and have a pattern that they play all the time.

"They have confidence, and it was hard to break them down But, we kept the ball for long periods, and created chances."

After the final whistle goes at Pittodrie on Sunday, another staging post will have been reached, and Deila hopes they will be in a much better position than they were at the previous one after they fell further behind then-shock-league-leaders, Hamilton.

Their game in hand, against Partick Thistle, is scheduled for Wednesday, December 3, and they are already the top scorers in the division, while their concession rate is now the lowest, thanks to another clean sheet at the weekend when Lukasz Zaluska proved a more-than-able deputy for Craig Gordon, who was resting a knee which had given him some discomfort in training.

"Lukasz has been losing weight and is much fitter than he has been," said Deila of the Hoops hero. "I was so happy for him when I saw what he was achieving."

The Polish keeper showed he had suffered no lasting effects from the head injuries sustained on a recent night out in Glasgow as he denied Inverness with some impressive reflex saves in the anxious final stages of a match which, previously, had been notable for the visitors' unwillingness to engage in the kind of quick-passing, incisive football which had provided the platform for their victory over the Hoops up north earlier in the season.

The only goal of the game was a perfect illustration of the difference between the psyche of both teams.

Emilio Izaguirre lost possession just inside the Inverness half, and stood appealing for a free-kick that was never going to be awarded.

However, instead of pouring forward to take advantage of the full-back and other Celtic players being out of position, Inverness dallied and eventually worked the ball back the way.

Fast forward 30 seconds. Scott Brown robs Danny Williiams, and, as the Inverness players stop, demanding a free-kick, the ball is speedily dispatched to Anthony Stokes, supported by Guidetti on one side and Stefan Johansen on the other.

Despite the Norwegian appearing to be the better option as he is unmarked, the ball is given to the Swede.

After some neat footwork, it is sent beyond Dean Brill for Guidetti's ninth goal in nine games, and, another very important win for Celtic.