CELTIC manager Ronny Deila admits he is is on a learning curve which does not allow him to see what is around the next corner.

But he is on the fast track when it comes to his education in the school of hard knocks, having already seen his side falter twice in their quest to make it into the Champions League.

As he prepares to start a crash course in Europa League football in Salzburg, he concedes he has learned harsh lessons while trying to ring the changes at Celtic.

The Norwegian said: "It has been very hard because it is my first time in this situation. You can't be somebody else. You have to be yourself.

"I should maybe be more me. Maybe that would have been better."

The real Deila is now ready to step up and plot a course into the Europa League's latter stages.

But if anyone thinks this will be easier than the battle for a Champions League place, they need to look closer at their Group D opponents.

Like Celtic, Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb were expected to qualify for the main competition but fell to Sweden's Malmo and Danish side Aalborg.

Only Astra are happy to be in this competition, after qualifying by beating French giants Lyon.

Going to Salzburg is considered the toughest start Celtic could have had but Deila is not sure this will prove to be true.

He said: "These three teams may not be well known to everybody but they're good sides in their own countries.

"It's important to get points from away games. It is also important to be strong at home, of course, but if you can get something away as well you have a very good chance of getting through."

Deila aims to use the Europa League experience as a foundation for a better tilt at the Champions League next year.

That requires another title-winning season, yet Deila is ready to save his strongest team for European nights in the belief his back-up players can do the business at home.

That confidence proved to be unfounded when a weakened Hoops side lost at Inverness recently.

But with the arrivals of strikers Stefan Scepovic and John Guidetti - who is ineligible for Europe at this stage - he's confident he has the resources to succeed on two fronts.

DEILA arrived here without the injured Mikael Lustig, Adam Matthews and Charlie Mulgrew, but the return to action of Scott Brown after his torn hamstring is a real bonus for him.

The 38-year-old boss is convinced the captain's presence is an inspiration to all his players.

"You can see they feel safe with Scott on the pitch," said Deila. "He is always talking and he leads from the front to show what kind of effort and commitment you need. The others follow.

"You could see that in the first half hour against Aberdeen. He was all over the pitch. When we get that for 90 minutes it will be very interesting to see how good he can be."

Brown is hoping to lead out the Bhoys tonight. His boss said: "Scott is not fully fit yet, he needs time. But he is a leader.

"We missed him in some games when things were not going the right way. You need people to turn it around and he is unbelievably important for the team.

"When he gets fitter, we will take another step. That's how I work.

"I want to develop players all the time and, when we do that, we will get better results."