RONNY DEILA has hailed Scott Brown as 'Mr Celtic' - and insists the skipper is going nowhere.

The Hoops boss was reacting to weekend reports the 29-year-old - who was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in yesterday's 2-1 win over Aberdeen - is going to be the subject of a £5million bid from Crystal Palace.

Former Celtic boss, Neil Lennon, is also a huge fan of the midfield powerhouse and would be very interested in taking him to Bolton to help with their push for a return to the Premier League.

Brown's current contract has just over a year-and-half to run, and negotiations over a new one have just begun. But Deila has no fears the man bought from Hibs for £4.4m in 2007 will be rushing for the exit door.

He is confident Brown has too much love for the club to even contemplate moving away. The manager said: "Scott is going to stay here. He loves Celtic, and we love him. So there is nothing to talk about."

Celtic do want to get their longest-serving player in their squad tied down, however. So preliminary negotiations are underway over a new contract to replace the one which runs out next summer, with the club holding a further year's option.

Brown was at his marauding best in the thick of the battle at Pittodrie yesterday, where Celtic's victory fired them to top spot in the SPFL.

He picked up two yellow cards in the tousy affair, the second when Niall McGinn tried to break through to restore the Dons' lead with eight minutes to go.

Deila believes he set the tone for the entire team in what was described as the Hoops' toughest test of the season.

"Scott is a leader with a capital L," said the manager. He is Mr Celtic."

Deila wants to strengthen his side, rather than lose any of the major components of it. But reports that the Hoops have resurrected their attempt to bring ex-Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder, Lassana Diarra, in on a free transfer after he severed his ties with Lokomotiv Moscow have been shot down by the Parkhead boss.

The question mark over who holds his registration is still a major hurdle to any attempt to bring him on board and Deila confirmed: "I haven't heard anything for a couple of weeks because it is a political thing, and he is very hard to get."

Deila also revealed that he has no news on when Aleksandar Tonev's appeal hearing against the seven-game ban given to him for racist abuse towards Shay Logan will take place.

The Bulgarian was left out of yesterday's game and Deila explained it was because of the situation with Logan, who was himself red-carded after the game for remarks made to one of the match officials in the tunnel.