RONNY DEILA will tell his Celtic players that if they can’t handle what are sure to be testing conditions against FK Qarabag here tonight then they don’t deserve to be in the Champions League group stages.

The Norwegian is not happy with the pitch and, while the heat is stifling and atmosphere inside the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium is predicted to be hostile, he would still not put up with any excuse if his side fail to move into the play-off round.

Celtic go into this game with a 1-0 lead from the first leg, a crucial advantage that the club’s supporters hope will see them through to the last round of qualifiers before the group stages.

But if things do go wrong for whatever reason, the manager would not look to blame anyone else for his team’s situation.

“The heat will affect all of the players on the pitch, not just ours,” said Deila. “But we have the experience of playing matches like this. We have to be tactically good and be very concentrated and disciplined in what we do.

“We will see if there are water breaks. It could make a difference getting water on. It could be important.

“If we can’t handle the atmosphere then we don’t have any business in the Champions League. It’s as simple as that.

“The pitch is not good. Everybody is agreed on that. But that’s how it is. We can start moaning about it or we can prepare for what we have to do. I am very impressed with the players and the way they have handled different surfaces in Scotland.”

Asked if he could compare it to Motherwell’s home ground, which is often criticised for the state of the surface, Deila said: “It’s not any worse than that. It’s that level. I have been critical of the pitches in Scotland, of course I have. Why shouldn’t I be critical of a pitch like this?

“Everyone understands this is not Champions League level. But, again, that’s how it is.”

Deila also needs the Champions League to both keep and attract players to Celtic. It is all very well the club boasting about its European pedigree, but the trick is to get to the group stages and prove they belong there.

“It is important. There is the size of the club, the stadium and the fans, and it’s about the Champions League, and it’s about developing a lot of players and making them a better football player,” said Deila. “Those are the four things we can offer players that are on their way up in their career.”

Leigh Griffiths and Nir Bitton both trained last night, although Nadir Ciftci is expected to start as the lone striker.

Deila brushed away suggestions that Virgil van Dijk was the subject of an official bid from Southampton, although his defensive manner hinted that there might be something in it.

But he almost laughed when it was suggested that a fee of £7million was quoted for the Dutchman.

“I don’t think Virgil will lose any energy over this,” said Deila. “We have good communication. We know what we want. This is a big game and he has played really well in recent games.

“There has been nothing we would consider at all. He is going to stay here through qualification as I have said all the time. I asked what it was (the fee mentioned). When £7million was said, I said we would not consider it. That is not even close. There has been nothing yet.

“Will his situation change if we go out? I am not even thinking about that. We do not need to do anything. I don’t think about failure. I think about how to win. That’s the most important thing.

“The two last games have been among his best as well. You could see in our game against Qarabag at home that he is a top international player. He has shown that over time. It is good for Celtic and it’s good for him.”

Celtic would only allow Van Dijk to leave if a bid of £10m came in and even then they have no need to let go of the centre-half during this transfer window.

It pains Deila to watch players from the English Championship move for vast sums of money who are not even close to the level of his best players.

He said: “We know what they’re worth and again, for me, first of all it’s about creating a team and achieving things for Celtic. That is very positive that clubs are interested in our players because that means that we are doing something right. But we don’t think about that right now.

“My dream for Virgil and all the other players is to get into the Champions League, play good football in the Champions League, and show that they can perform at the highest level and then they can go to the biggest clubs in Europe if they’re going to go away from us – when that is a step up.

“But the clubs from six downwards in England, like Southampton, are not bigger than us. They have more money than us, but they’re not bigger.”

Qarabag coach Gurban Gurbanov, meanwhile, was more concerned about Celtic scoring an away goal than the playing surface.

"We can't change the pitch, but we will do our best to play at the highest level," he said.

"We can't let Celtic score, that is very important. It will be a hard game, the advantage is with Celtic, but we have 90 minutes to change that."