IT'S not what you're given, it's what you've got.

Moreover, it's not what what you've got, it's how you use it.

A smorgasbord of food for thought for Ronny Deila after he had to stomach watching his Celtic side serve up a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance before finally drawing 3-3 with Inter Milan in a pulsating first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie.

What nearly choked the Hoops boss was the fact his players conceded three cheap and avoidable goals in a first half which saw them fight back to 2-2 before inviting Inter to take the lead again.

Even the regular saviour, Craig Gordon - who had his usual quota of important saves - was at fault, which must have left everyone feeling as sick as they were bemused.

The second half brought a deserved equaliser from sub John Guidetti in injury time - and hope that Celtic can take the game to Inter in the San Siro next week.

Roberto Mancini's side still have a slight advantage, courtesy of their away goals.

But they know they will once again meet a team who do not know how to behave like underdogs.

Prior to the much-anticipated reunion of the clubs which contested the European Cup final 48 years ago and the semi-final five years later, Deila did his best to dampen over-hyped expectation by highlighting the disparity between the spending power of Mancini and what he has at Celtic.

However, given the giant-killing performances of his predecessors in the Parkhead hot seat, and, as the current kit sponsors like to remind everyone, there is no such thing as impossible.

So anticipation filled the air around Celtic Park when Deila's Bhoys lined up against the side which is struggling to recapture past glories in Italy.

The mood ebbed and flowed with the game. But by the end, it was still up in the clouds thanks to the fighting Celts.

On the night when the TV world finally found out Whodunnit in Eastenders murder mystery, Deila and the Celtic supporters tuned in to discover who Coulddoit at this level.

Or, to be more accurate, who is ready to do it. The answer they got is - plenty.

There have been more twists and turns in Celtic's European sojourn this term than in an entire soap opera season.

With 13 episodes now completed, the storyline is not certain to play out its final scene in the San Siro.

If the curtain does come down next Thursday night - when Kris Commons should be fit to return - the Hoops will still emerge with huge credit and belief.

But it will require everyone to follow the script as laid down by Deila, who constantly underlines the need for exceptional defending.

Last night, it was not even efficient, the real narrative of their European season.

Match-ups with teams of the calibre of Inter can only accelerate the improvement required, even if you have to take a bloody nose in the process.

Some wounds were self-inflicted, however, and Deila will reflect that two in quick succession led to the opening goals for Inter.

Hesitancy and indecision between Jason Denayer and Adam Matthews conceded possession mid-way inside Celtic's half.

Inter needed no second invitation to capitalise, and a ball over the top found Xherdan Shaqiri, whose well-timed run kept him onside and in on Gordon.

His first shot was parried. But the rebound fell to the £13million January signing, who coolly stroked the ball across the keeper and in at the far post.

There were only four minutes on the clock, and the Lisbon Lions who had formed the guard of honour as the teams came out had hardly taken their VIP seats.

They would still have been asking what happened when Inter doubled their advantage 10 minutes later.

This time a corner wasn't cleared by Emilio Izaguirre, his effort cannoning back into the danger area and to the feet of Rodrigo Palacio.

Virgil Van Dijk - later booked along with Stefan Johansen - tried to block his shot, but it evaded him and Gordon to whistle into the net.

It was like Juventus two years ago. The difference was this time Celtic hit back.

Stuart Armstrong gave them hope when was picked out by the rampaging Adam Matthews and drilled a shot home on 24 minutes.

The cheers were still ringing round the packed stadium when the same player forced Hugo Campagnaro to knock the ball past his own keeper from five yards as the pair raced to connect with a Scott Brown scooped cross.

It said so much about the character of the Celtic players that they had picked themselves up off the floor from the early 1-2 to draw level.

But another sucker punch lay in wait as they got within a minute of the interval.

A diagonal ball caught Gordon in two minds. When eventually he decided he had to come to the edge of his area to deal with it, it skipped up off the soaking surface and slipped beyond his grasp.

Palacio had spotted the chance of a mistake and got his reward with an easy tap in from eight yards.

To their credit, Celtic came back for more, and pushed Inter hard to the end of the game.

Gary Mackay-Steven tested Juan Pablo Carrizo after getting through a couple of times, as did Leigh Griffiths.

Liam Henderson had the chance to be a hero, when the ball ran to him as he stood unmarked just a minute after he had come on for Armstrong.

But the youngster's shot was straight at the keeper.

The kid made amends when he flicked the ball over the top for Guidetti - just onside - to curl his shot high into the net, and the Celtic fans into raptures.

There was still time time for Gordon to save Shaqiri's free-kick before the celebrating could begin and the plans to storm the San Siro formulated.