CELTIC manager Ronny Deila believes he will learn a lot about the mentality of his players in tonight’s final Europa League group game away to Fenerbahce. The Parkhead side have nothing but pride to play for in Istanbul with progress to the last 32 already beyond them, but Deila is already plotting for next summer’s Champions League and wants his squad to show they deserve to be part of those plans.

The Norwegian admits this has been a tough European campaign for him so far, with Celtic not reaching the Champions League group stage and then failing to win any of their first five Europa League group games. He is determined to round it off on a high against the Turks - who need a point to ensure they book their place in the knock-out phase - and wants his players to show they are up for it as much as their opponents.

He said: “I can learn a lot about the players from this game. We know it will be tough and it will be different from the game against them in Scotland as we’ll need to defend more. The players gained a lot from what we went through in Europe last season as well as this year. We’ve scored a lot of goals but we have conceded too many.

“We need to keep a clean sheet and try to win the game. It’s about confidence as well. If we can win in Turkey it would be a huge achievement. It would be huge for us because it’s always tough to go to Fenerbahce.

“There is also pride at stake for us. Of course my pride has been dented. We wanted to go through to the last 32. There’s a lot of disappointment and frustration. But we haven’t been good enough in the small details and we need to show in this game we can improve for next year. It’s important for us to see if we can get a good performance and result in Turkey. We want to gain experience in Europe and this is a big game.”

Deila has been on his travels in recent weeks as he looks to bolster his squad, watching Aston Villa target Libor Kozac in action and also taking in Newcastle’s game with Liverpool. Bringing in players he can hang his hat on is vital, he underlined.

“Strengthening the squad is very important. We need players we know we can rely on in certain situations. It is hard to put a number on how many we need. It also depends on what is available. My trip to Birmingham [to watch Kozac] went okay. I was also in Newcastle for the Liverpool game. So it’s nice to have an opportunity to watch other football and get some ideas. I enjoyed those two days. We are looking around to see if we can find the right type of players. We have a lot of scouts so we will make it right come the end”.

Security has been tightened in Turkey following a recent bomb attack on the Istanbul metro and as a result of heightened tensions between the country and Russia. Deila, though, revealed Celtic’s plans have not changed significantly as a result. “I haven’t been told that we will be doing anything different. We have good security around us and I know they have good control. So we will do as we normally do as before.”