Celtic must roll with the punches

They will not, however, win it by anything like the margin of the past three, and certainly not 29 points, as they did last term

That much is clear after just four Premiership games for the champions who are mis-firing and stuttering their way through their current laboured transition.

The 1-1 draw against Dundee at Dens Park was the latest, painful reminder the Ronny Revolution has still to move out of first gear.

Champions versus champions, from Premiership and Championship. But there is not a division between these teams now.

As Deila heads into the respite provided by the international break, he can reflect on this - and much more.

Sure, the 6-1 demolition of Dundee United which followed the 3-0 win over St Johnstone was evidence the manager's philosophy is getting through and working.

But the 1-0 loss at Inverness saw momentum reversed, even if it was a game played with a shadow side.

The play-off defeat to Maribor rocked the Hoops to the core, and it was clear against newly-promoted Dundee the shock has not been expunged from their psyche.

The manager needed a positive response to take into the hiatus for internationals, always an opportunity for fans to take stock of where their side stands.

Deila must also maximise this down time, some of which he will spend with the family he left behind when he moved to Celtic in the summer.

The Celtic family has still to fully adopt him. For many, the results on his watch so far -four wins in 10 games played, leading to a mid-table position in the SPFL and a double exit from the Champions League qualification - leave question marks over his lineage.

It requires more than fist-pumps towards the fans - as delivered by Deila ahead of the game at Dens - to prove you have the calibre to be the manager of Celtic.

Sure, it was a display of passion and fight which was appreciated by the supporters who travelled to Dundee, the City of Discovery, hoping to unearth evidence that better days lie ahead.

But, if the players don't carry the same spirit and resolve, ultimately, they are empty gestures.

At the same end as the manager's cheer-leading, those fans got a close-up view of what ails Celtic, and in double-quick time.

Jason Denayer was forced to concede a corner in the opening 25 seconds, taken by Philip Roberts and headed in by James McPake, despite Callum McGregor's efforts to clear on the line.

It was the third time in eight days they had gone behind in a game, to Inverness then Maribor in the previous two without response.

Still, having conceded so early on this occasion, it left the Hoops with 89 minutes to do something about it, even if it did afford the home fans the opportunity to indulge in the taunt, 'You're getting sacked in the morning'.

It was left to Leigh Griffiths to silence them, having come off the bench four minutes before the break in a reshuffle which saw Jo Inge Berget hauled off, and firing in a shot which took a deflection to help it fly in at the base of Kyle Letheren's left-hand post.

But, while that would previously have heralded panic in the home side and an irresistible onslaught from the Hoops who would go on to win all three points, there is so little confidence and so much disorganisation in the current team that any game can go any way.

The sight of both full-backs stationed simultaneously in the opposition's final third and the two central defenders miles apart must have given inspiration to Dundee, who had the pace of Roberts then sub Martin Boyle to exploit this ultra-high, ragged line.

At the same time, it was giving Craig Gordon palpitations as the home side transitioned quickly from defence to attack.

Deila conceded his side had got off to the worst possible start, and added: "The first half was very passive and we almost looked afraid to play.

"When Leigh came on, he put some energy into the team. After the break we looked good for about 20 minutes and we got the goal, which we deserved.

"The game then opened up, and it could have gone both ways. So, 1-1 was a fair result.

"There were a lot of changes in the team and that was hard for young players to stand up to.

"In the second half they did that."

Deila's dilemma was that, having picked this side, without Charlie Mulgrew, Mikael Lustig and Virgil van Dijk, for reasons physical and cerebral, the men he had entrusted with preventing the Hoops falling to a third straight defeat simply didn't look up for it, or to it.

The concerns were such that Deila didn't even wait until the interval to make the change he hoped would spark them into life.

Adam Matthews was also removed at half-time with Eoghan O'Connell replacing him, Efe Ambrose moving to right-back.

Although this left an untried and very inexperienced central defensive partnership of O'Connell and Jason Denayer, this double substitution paid off within 10 minutes of the second half, O'Connell picking out Griffiths with a slide-rule pass from half way.

The deflection on the way to the net was the kind of luck which positive actions deserve. And, heaven knows, Deila can use any good breaks going.

He did see shots from Anthony Stokes and Griffiths strike the woodwork.

But he also witnessed Dundeed lack only composure and accuracy when they got goal-side of the missing-in- action Hoops defence.

All of which will provide a smorgasbord of food for thought for the Norwegian as he kicks back and lets international managers do the worrying over the next two weeks.