HE'S Ronny Deila - not Ronny Deluded.

And not being distracted by results alone will ensure the Celtic manager keeps his eye unwaveringly on the ball.

Sure, watching his Bhoys rack up their seventh straight league win at the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Motherwell was a sight for sore eyes - especially as this confirms the champions have retained the gap they opened up with their midweek success over Partick Thistle.

Anthony Stokes scoring his seventh goal of the campaign after just six minutes, the result of heavy pressure, quick turnover and composed finishing, is just what Deila wants to see.

So was Craig Gordon securing his third shut-out in a week, even if he really had just a couple of routine saves to make.

Gordon was thankful big Lee Erwin spurned the best chance the misfiring home side had when heading well off target on being gifted a golden opportunity in the dying minutes.

The sub capped an eventful short appearance by also picking up a booking for going down too readily in an attempt to earn a penalty.

But the ending was in ­complete contrast to the start made by Celtic, and Deila is not blinkered to the fact that his side started like champions and finished like desperate men.

That was despite Motherwell being reduced to 10 men after the red card shown to Simon Ramsden for his desperate lunging tackle at the flying James Forrest midway through the second half.

It was not easy on the manager's eye.

He wants 90-minute performances, not 20-minute cameos, during which his players confirm they can, indeed, play the way he - and the large travelling support - wants to see them operate.

Deila can spot an unwanted pattern emerging, his side having managed to beat Thistle by the same slimline score-line three days earlier, and he said: "We have to take this seriously again and see behind the result.

"If we keep on letting our opponent come into our half in the last 15 minutes of games, something will happen in the end.

"We've been warned a couple of times. Now we have to make some changes so that we make this right."

Truth be told, the game should have been out of sight long before those opening 20 minutes were over, with at least five excellent chances to add to Stokes' goal which, ultimately, decided the points.

Celtic are entitled to feel aggrieved they did not get a penalty when Zaine Francois-Angol used an arm to block an Adam Matthews cross.

That Forrest sent one of those early opportunities wide should not be too much of a surprise, given the winger is still finding his way back to his best after so long out.

What was more eye-opening was John Guidetti's high rate of profligacy, a trait which followed him all the way through to his substitution after 69 minutes.

To be fair to the Swede, he did find the net with a spectacular overhead kick.

But the flag had been raised for what TV showed was a wrong offside call before he indulged in his extravagant acrobatics to send the ball past inspired keeper Dan Twardzik, something which proved very hard to do on the day.

As his goal "drought" extended to two matches, the frustration of the golden Bhoy - who had scored 10 goals in 11 games prior to this - became more and more evident.

Perhaps it was behind his decision to throw his boots to the crowd at the end of the game. Those ones were obviously faulty.

Deila had sympathy for his main striker, and said: "John was very frustrated, but he has scored a lot of goals, and strikers get these periods sometimes. He will come back."

However, it is not just down to Guidetti to get the goals. It is, after all, a team game.

Stokes is part of that, and he could have had more than the one he got - the result of shoddy defending when put under pressure - or, at least, helped others to join him on the scoresheet.

But some of his decision-making was disappointing.

Stokes must have been a good bet to score at Fir Park, having made a habit of finding the net in matches directly before European ties.

He did so before the Hoops faced Maribor, Astra and Salzburg - but could not carry this striking form into the games for which Guidetti is, of course, ineligible. That's a run the Republic of Ireland international would like the chance to put right in Zagreb, though Deila might elect to include Stokes on the list of players he wants to rest in this closing Group D game.

With his eye for detail, the manager is, as is his wont, looking at the bigger picture.

His forensic analysis of Saturday's victory at Motherwell has confirmed his players did not deliver the complete package he demands.

"The first 20 minutes was top-level," said the manager. "If we can get 90 minutes with that level, we're going to be a hard team to beat.

"But we need to score more goals. It's about practice and skills, and it's about getting confidence. We win games, and that's positive. We have a good mood in the group, and it's a good atmosphere.

"We are working every day to improve, and I see signs we're getting somewhere. But we're not there yet. There's still a lot of work to be done."

The chance to hone skills on the training ground will be disrupted for yet another mid-week game, this time the meat in a travel sandwich.

The Hoops will not return from Zagreb until the early hours of Friday, and must then grab the required recovery to be in shape to face St Mirren at Celtic Park on Sunday.

On paper, that should not be a game which stretches them too far.

But Motherwell are also down at the wrong end of the table and struggling for form, and raised their game sufficiently to make Celtic grateful to hear the final whistle at Fir Park.

The Steelmen will rue the fact that, on Keith Lasley's 400th appearance for the club - with his bite remaining as ferocious as ever - they did not have the quality to complete a smash-and-grab.