Ronny Deila has reiterated that he does not plan on heading into the Uefa Champions League qualifiers without Virgil van Dijk.

The Hoops defender underlined his importance to Celtic during yesterday's 1-0 win at Pittodrie, and there is expected to be significant interest in the Dutchman at the end of the season.

Spurs are the latest Barclays Premier League team to be credited with keeping tabs on Van Dijk, but Deila remains insistent that he is going nowhere. The Celtic manager said: "He will stay a Celtic player. That's our target, to get stronger."

Instead, Deila was more interested in spreading the praise round his entire title-winning squad - with a specific nod to his defence.

He said: "They've been good all season. The whole back four with the goalkeeper have been good. That's one of the reasons why we won the league."

And the Hoops boss also believes that Celtic have been good value for money this term, particularly since the turn of the year.

Dons boss Derek McInnes has vowed that the Dons will get closer to Celtic next term and Deila was complimentary about what they have offered this season.

"We have had thousands of fans coming to see us, paying huge money and making an effort to see us play, so it's good to give something back to them," he said.

"They have had a good season and we have had a very good spell after Christmas.

"We should have been more clinical against Aberdeen, but I am happy to win the game. Four victories over Aberdeen is a strong achievement. They have been good over the season."