CELTIC fans desperate to see Ronny Deila unleash a starting strike force of Nadir Ciftci and Leigh Griffiths will need to be patient – in the short term anyway.

There has been some clamour for the Norwegian to tweak his system in order to accommodate two frontmen – and it is something he has given consideration to since signing the Turk from Dundee United during the close season.

Deila’s philosophy is attack-minded, but it favours two wide men with a lone forward and another sitting just in front of the midfield.

It served the Premiership champions well last term, but there is always a feeling among Celtic fans that the club should deploy two out-and-out attackers, especially at Parkhead.

The addition of Nadir Ciftci this summer appears to have put him at the forefront of the striking options, although the performances of Griffiths have underlined the fact he is the natural finisher at the club.

Deila hinted after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Rennes that Griffiths had played his way into a starting position for tomorrow night’s crucial Champions League third-round, first-leg qualifier against Azerbaijan side Qarabag at Celtic Park.

While Ciftci is capable of mixing it physically and has an aggression that can be vital in the European arena, he has yet to find the net for his new club.

It is unlikely Deila will field both players from the start against the Azerbaijanis, but with a two-goal advantage the very least he will want to take to Baku for what will be an awkward second leg in searing heat next week, it could be that they pair up as the game goes on.

“We have done it in the last three games at some point,” the manager pointed out. “That is something we will always have as an option.

“We have to see what kind of opponent we meet, what shape the players are in and what we want from the game. It affects the balance of the team. We need angles, that is how we want to play.

“If we were to go with two up top, the strikers would need to be very strong at holding the ball up. It is a little bit of a different way of playing, but it is something we are thinking of and working on because it can be good to play differently as well.”

And Deila has admitted that once more he has been pleased at the manner in which Griffiths has knuckled down after being overlooked.

The striker finished last season as the club’s top goalscorer and, while he started the second-round Champions League qualifiers on the bench, he has used his time when on the park to showcase a ruthless striker’s eye for goal.

And it has not gone unnoticed.

“Leigh will certainly be in the squad and he might be a starter. We will see,” said Deila.

“He is continuing to score goals and that is what we need. He is an important player. He knows the way we want to play and he is sharp. I like what I see just now.

“His attitude is good. He has trained well, he is working hard. He is making it difficult for me.”

Deila has urged the Hoops support to come out in numbers tomorrow night in order to give the stadium the frisson of excitement and energy that is synonymous with European nights in Paradise.

While Qarabag may not be the most glamorous opponents, the ultimate goal is as enticing as any.

And, having sampled the atmosphere within Celtic Park with a full stadium against European opposition, Deila is looking for the Hoops support to give their all as his players strive to make it through the anxious qualifiers.

“We know the level we need to play at to beat Qarabag,” said Deila. “The atmosphere, the performance level, all of it is linked.

“I think when the stadium is full and you have that big atmosphere it is a twelfth player for us. You hear that lots of times in football. Big players do not get intimidated by the noise or the atmosphere, but what it does is give a lift and an aggression to your own players.

“There is an edge to the game. The players feel it and they feed off it. We all want to get to the group stages of the Champions League.

“It is a dream for all of us to play there and try to beat the very best. For the supporters and everyone at the club, they are such special games. But the most important thing is that we try to get there. We need their backing. We want them making noise and colour.”

Since the Champions League was established in the mid-90s, no Celtic title-winning manager has failed to lead the club into the group stages of the competition in their second season in charge at the club.

Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon all achieved it in their second season in office – and Deila is desperate to replicate that.

Having one full season behind him means that he is far better prepared for the demands at this level and he also believes his squad is better prepared, too. However, if they are, indeed, a team transformed from the European debacle of 12 months ago, then this is the time when they need to make good on those ambitions.

“It is the same for everyone. You want to test yourself against the very best. It would mean everything to me to take a team into the group stages of the Champions League.

“But you have to be good enough. We think we are good enough, but now we face a big test.

“Those two legs against Inter Milan [a 3-3 draw and a 1-0 defeat in the San Siro] last season, is the best we played at the European level in my time. We need to replicate that.

“We are capable of that performance again. We need to believe and we need to produce.”