IF EVER a matter displeased Gordon Strachan during his time as Celtic manager he wasn’t backwards about coming forward to articulate his feelings.

The Under-21 rule, wherein all SPL clubs had to name three in that age bracket in their match-squad, was something he really didn’t like.

He mentioned it more than once. The idea that some regulation, which in his mind – and that of many others – was never going to work dictated his team selection sat uneasily with him.

If memory serves, it was after a game at Pittodrie when

Strachan went on a bit of a rant about the matter when he was forced to leave out what he

considered first-team players in order to use up his quota of those under the age of 21, who were either not close to making a breakthrough or were never going to do so at the club.

He said something along the lines of that you can’t just give a Celtic jersey to anyone.

They had to earn it rather than being handed it because their lack of years were in their favour.

The rule was a flawed idea and one that meant many young players were named as a substitute, and even getting some game-time, when they should have been nowhere near a top-tier match.

It certainly hurt Strachan, who had a job of keeping 20-odd players happy-ish, which is a lot harder to do when some were in the stand, their places in the squad taken up by a

couple of kids.

“The Celtic jersey does not shrink to fit inferior players,” said Jock Stein, who tended to be right about most things.

The connection of what he and Strachan said is that you don’t pick someone for Celtic just for the sake if it. They had to deserve this honour.

At St Mirren Park on Wednesday night, the average age of the Celtic side which finished the friendly game against Den Bosch would not have been more than 21 or 22.

The Norwegian’s reputation for bringing on young players was one of the reasons Celtic looked at him in the first place as an assistant to Neil Lennon.

And he showed last season that he wasn’t afraid to give the likes of Liam Henderson,

Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney their chance.

Deila is in a unique position, which will be strengthened if he makes the Champions League, in that he will be able to throw some of his younger players in for league matches because he knows, although he will never admit it in public, that Celtic are going to win the league.

So this season at least is ideal in terms of opportunity for the better academy players for two reasons.

Firstly, they will be introduced into a winning team. Secondly, such opportunities will be more regular if the club qualify for the group stage because the manager would look to rest his best players before such matches, knowing that he can risk fielding a more inexperienced team in a league match.

It’s a different world to the ones Stein and even Strachan inhibited.

However, Deila is not so different to his two predecessors in that he won’t give some kid a shirt just for the sake of it.

Eight academy players got on at the hour mark at St Mirren Park in midweek. Some, not all, will figure this season. Those who do will have worked hard, very hard, to get that opportunity.

Deila said: “A lot of the youngsters train with the first team. That is the first step. If they show themselves good enough in training, then they get a chance.

“That is how it is. You never give someone something just to give it. They have to deserve it. Then you give it to them.

“Now, a lot of them are young so they are just (good) enough to be training with the first team.

“But I can see talent. Luke Donnelly (who started against Den Bosch) was very good on Wednesday. KT (Tierney) did well also, so you see people coming forward.

“But to be a Celtic player, you need to really develop all the time and they have still a bit to go.”

Aidan Nesbitt, Stuart Findlay, Joe Chalmers, Paul McMullan and Michael Duffy are among those at Celtic Park tipped for, if not big things, then at least with having a chance of cracking this professional football lark.

McMullan, a 19-year-old who spent time at Stenhousemuir for the final few months of last season, spoke a while back about the positive effect he felt simply training with the senior players had on him last season.

First, though, he will continue his apprenticeship at St Mirren after the clubs agreed a year-long loan spell for the youngster

earlier today.

Deila, though, has a vision for the future and will not shrink from getting rid of those who have no part to play in his plans.

Again, this is good for those in the up-and-coming bracket in that their paths will not be blocked by a so-called senior player who is just taking up space.

Deila said: “Some players have gone out. We have done that already. We don’t want to have the biggest squad. That is a thing for us and some will need to go on loan or get a move.”

Celtic fans want to see more of their own, as it were, play in the first team. That is going to happen this season and those who do get their chance will be worthy of it.”

Mr Stein would surely approve.