RONNY DEILA spoke a lot after Saturday’s penultimate friendly before his Celtic side begin their Champions League campaign – and one line more than any other stood out following the 5-3 defeat to Dukla Prague.

“It was okay ... we have a lot to work on.”

And that, folks, sums up where Celtic are only nine days away from facing Icelandic champions FC Stjarnan at Celtic Park in the first leg of their first of three qualifiers before what the Norwegian hopes is a crack at the group stages of Europe’s premier tournament.

The players will work every day from now until a week on Wednesday to get themselves up to speed – they play Real Sociedad on Friday night – and there are some things which need worked on.

No-one, however. should read too much into Saturday’s St Mirren Park reverse.

Nobody gives their all in such run-outs, apart from Scott Brown, who was terrific before he ran out of gas, and there were so many changes during the game that you were never going to see a perfect performance.

And yet, losing five goals is never great.

Dukla Prague are a touch further into their pre-season, but looked miles better than their opponents.

Again, it is worth repeating that Saturday’s result doesn’t really matter because the only thing that does is how Celtic play next week and it’s going to be a lot different than this.

But Deila does have some thinking to do. Former Celtic player Mark Wilson, who was on media duties at the game, described the defence as “dodgy”, and intimated the manager would be worried. It’s hard to argue with that.

Certainly, Dukla opened Celtic up way too easily and their number five, Marek Hanousek, was by some distance the best player on the field. He scored a hat-trick and set up another. One was tempted to ask Deila if he was going to put a bid in.

But, again, you would imagine this is one of those things that happen in warm-up matches.

However, the form of Emilio Izaguirre is a worry. Let’s be honest, it has been for a while. He was all over the place at the weekend and sloppy play gifted the Czech side a goal in the first half. It is no great surprise that Deila is looking for another left-back.

Mikael Lustig, who in the eyes of this observer is potentially the club’s best player, had something of a nightmare. He couldn’t find a team-mate. That can’t happen next week.

One or two others were clearly some way from being fully fit.

Brown was terrific. He charged about the park with great authority and this upcoming season could be the best of his career, the captain having never looked in better shape.

Leigh Griffiths scored a penalty and his movement was pretty good. Gary Mackay-Steven was impressive again. He scored a lovely goal thanks to a wonderful scooped pass by Stefan Johansen, who also enjoyed some nice moments.

James Forrest is a puzzle. There was a great example of what he can do in the first half when, from a Celtic corner, Dukla broke and he chased back to save a goal, sprinting 80 yards at full pace to make a tackle.

He got a lot of the ball, but his crossing wasn’t great. It rarely is. This lad has talent and if there is a quicker player in the game anywhere in the world then I would like to see him.

There are times when you look at Forrest on the ball and tearing down the wing and think Celtic have an absolute gem on their hands, but his delivery needs working on. If he can get that sorted, then this could be a vital season for him.

His problem may well be that at the back of his mind he is worried that his hamstring will ping at any moment, and therefore he is not playing at 100 per cent. Forrest himself believes his injuries are behind him and that this could be the season where he truly establishes himself.

He said: “The last six months of last season were good for me. I’m glad that the break wasn’t too long over the summer and I could just keep ticking over. Now I just want to kick on again in the new season.

“I’ve had problems in terms of injuries, but that happens. A lot of players go through it. Some are lucky enough to avoid it in their careers.

“But it is about how you deal with it. Hopefully, I have come back stronger. I feel that’s what I did in the last six months and now I just want to continue like that. Do I see this as a defining season for me to really make a mark? I think it is like that for every player in every season.

“No-one can rest on what they have done in the past. You have to be ready for the new season, the new start, and kick on from the season before.”

Forrest was a Champions League hero for Celtic two seasons ago when his goal put the club into the group stages.

On that night, Neil Lennon admitted he found it strange that the Celtic supporters, at least some of them, had not taken to this young lad, who the then manager was and is a huge fan of.

One way for Forrest to win over the doubters would be to play a significant role over these qualifying rounds.

He said: “Getting through to the group stages is class. Celtic should be in the Champions League and that night against Shakhter Karagandy was unbelievable. It is something I will never forget.

“We had lost the first leg 2-0, so the way things turned out was extra special. Because the goal came in the last minute, everyone was on such a high. All the boys want that feeling again. We all just hope that we can go and do it over the next few games in the qualifiers.

“We didn’t make it last year, but that’s football. We have a good squad this year and all the boys have come back looking sharp. The big aim right at the start of the season is to get that Champions League place, and that’s what we are all working to try and do.”

And there is a bit of work still to do.