RONNY DEILA has smashed through two signing windows as Celtic manager, with contrasting results.

As a consequence, the Celtic manager feels he will be better prepared for the next one.

On the plus side, there have been successful acquisitions in the form of men such as Craig Gordon - surely the signing of the season by any club in Scotland, given the fact he was a free agent and is now strongly in the running to be Player of the Year.

Likewise, Jason Denayer has become a firm fixture in the Hoops starting XI, though his loan status makes him a temporary fix in a key area of the team.

Another loanee who has made an impact - for various reasons - is John Guidetti.

But as with Denayer, the Swede's time at the club appears to be running out.

Of the January intake, Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven have already proved to be shrewd acquisitions and Bhoys who will be part of the side Deila wants to build for the future.

They certainly look to be value for the combined outlay of £2million it took to prize them away from Dundee United.

This has helped offset the disappointing return from the £2.4m paid for Stefan Scepovic back in August, the Serbian striker yet to convince as he struggles to command anything like a regular place in the team.

Meanwhile, Aleksander Tonev and Wakaso Mubarak look like utilising the quick exit route taken by another loan signing last summer, Jo-Inge Berget, with Celtic forgoing their option to buy.

The success and failure of all of these players will be considered by Deila as he plans his strategy for the next signing window.

The international break has been used to check on a few targets, with the Hoops boss indicating the club may be focusing on even younger players whose value has not already taken them beyond their reach.

For Deila, it is not just about being a good player, but about being a good person.

And his holistic approach to recruiting new team-mates for the likes of Scott Brown, Virgil van Dijk and Stefan Johansen will make watching this window more interesting than ever for the Hoops fans.

Deila explained his thinking: "I want them to be good persons, because we are going to be together 362 days a year, almost.

"We see each other nearly every day, so we need to have a good environment.

"And we need to have players who like each other and want to build each other up.

"That's important."

Like Mackay-Steven, Armstrong certainly ticks that box.

The 22 year-old law student also wins points for being smarter than the average footballer.

But, in his identikit player, Deila looks for intelligence to be shown in other areas.

"They have to be football intelligent, that's the most important thing," he insisted.

"And social intelligence, that's important, too.

"Sometimes these things suit each other.

"If you are good at school, you have it in your mind that you can learn. And, you have discipline.

"If they can take that onto the pitch as well, you have the right things to get a good player."

With the instant impact made by Armstrong and Mackay-Steven, Deila has had his eyes opened to the talent that exists on his new doorstep.

That could encourage more attention to be paid to home-grown players.

The Norwegian said: "They are good players, but we did a brilliant job with the scouting, and knew everything about them.

"When they came here, they had the qualities we needed.

"They are very good people, human beings. These are the values I have told you about before, and they are very good examples of that.

"On the pitch, they have legs. They are quick, and modern football players. And they understand football.

"It is just the start, as well."

There is no denying the United pair have hit the ground running, even allowing for the stop-start schedule dictated by the fact they are both cup tied.

For them, as with everyone else in his squad, Deila believes there is more to come in the closing two months of the season, when he hopes the Hoops can run their challengers for the prizes into the improving ground.

He said: "The amount of high-intensity running we do now compared to six months ago is 30 or 40 per cent up.

"That's the results we want to see. But, we can go on and do more."