Ronny Deila has told his PFA short-listed players that they can fulfil their immediate ambitions in Glasgow.

Virgil van Dijk and Stefan Johansen have been shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award, while Jason Denayer is one of the favourites for the Young Player of the Year gong.

And, as the nominees were unveiled yesterday, Deila revealed that he still believes the players' development can continue with Celtic - and in the Uefa Champions League.

Denayer has consistently said that he will return to Manchester City when his loan deal expires with Celtic at the end of the season, but the door will be left open for another loan spell should the defender find that his path to first-team football in the Premiership remains blocked.

Van Dijk has attracted interest from elsewhere, too, after impressive seasons in Glasgow, while Johansen - the favourite to win the award - still has two years left on his current deal.

And Deila is confident that the carrot of Champions League football can be significant when it comes to persuading players that the grass is not always greener elsewhere.

"I am proud of the boys," said the Celtic manager. "We keep telling them that they can become better players here. They can improve.

"I think we have seen that this season for all three players that have a chance to win the prize.

"They have been very consistent for us. You can develop, you can get better with Celtic.

"I do not want to lose any of them. We know what Jason's situation is and he has said the same thing all season, but Virgil and Stefan are our players.

"They are both still very young and they can keep getting better.

"There is a big prize for us if we can get into the Champions League.

"We know how difficult that is to do, but that is where all players want to play. We have the chance to be playing with the very best.

"We want to keep our players. We want to build a team and we want to have consistency in it."

It is inevitable that Celtic would dominate the end-of-season awards and, while Deila was pleased to see some of his squad nominated for individual honours, he has reminded them that they have reached a certain level this term partly in thanks to those around them.

"We have played in so many games - in Europe, the league and the cups, and they have performed to a very good standard," he said.

"It is a good reflection on us as a team that we have them in there for the awards at the end of the season, but I am sure they would also say that they have had a lot of help from their team-mates.

"Of course it is great that they have been recognised because they have been excellent for us throughout the campaign."

Meanwhile, Celtic return to Tayside this weekend as they face Dundee United for the seventh time this season.

If Deila is sick of the sight of the Tannadice team - and their pitch - he does not show it. Victory over Jackie McNamara's side would take Celtic within two games of clinching the title and Deila's remit now is simply getting his players over the line.

"Those who win the league are the best team," he said. "The league is almost the most important thing to win and if we win on Sunday then we can move closer to doing that.

"We haven't played Dundee United for at least a month - we have missed them, but I am not sure that they have missed us! It is a bit strange to play a team so often in a short space of time, but it is the same for them.

"We have done well against them lately and we are still enjoying playing our football, so we just want to look forward to the game.

"We would like to get through the rest of the season unbeaten. We have lost only one game in the league since Christmas, and we would like to make sure we win it as quickly as we can."

Recent weeks have suggested there is an element of lethargy creeping into Celtic's play as the season takes its toll.

Yet, Deila wants them to finish as strongly as poss-ible and he has urged the playing squad to maintain their levels of concentration until they get over the line.

James Forrest, a former winner of the PFA Young Player of the Year award, is one of those whom Deila believes has knuckled down in recent weeks and he has urged him to sustain his enthusiasm in training in order to hit the kind of form of which he is capable.

"I have seen a big improvement in James and he has also started to really work hard and show the same kind of consistency in training," he said.

"It is good to see because we know that when he is at the top of his game that he is such an important player for the team but we need that consistency."