RONNY DEILA is confident he will deliver Champions League football to Celtic.
The Hoops were knocked out of the play-offs this week by Swedish side Malmo after suffering a 4-3 aggregate loss. Deila passed up two chances of reaching the group stages a year ago, shortly after taking over from Neil Lennon, but is under much more scrutiny following Tuesday's costly 2-0 second-leg defeat at the Swedbank station.
The Scottish champions dropped into the Europa League where they were drawn in the same "good group" as Ajax, Fenerbahce and Molde, but Deila believes the Parkhead club will return to the premier competition while he is in charge.
Ahead of the visit of St Johnstone in the Ladbrokes Premiership on Saturday, when asked if his time as Hoops boss could be described as a success if he never made it to the Champions League, he replied: "That's a hypothetical question.
"I think we are going to be in the Champions League while I am the manager. We are closer. Hopefully we get another chance next year by winning the league and then we will see.
"There has been a lot of progress in our team. The results have been much better this season but this has been a big setback for me, the whole club and for the players. But you can't feel sorry for yourselves, you have to get up again.
"Tomorrow [Saturday] is another match and I am looking forward to it much more than I did last year because I know we are on our way to doing something."
The former Stromsgodset boss, however, insists results are not the only criteria by which he should be judged, claiming that there is a wider remit at Celtic.
"I don't think smart people judge only on results," he said.
"People who succeed in life judge progress in many ways. This club is one of the best driven clubs in the world. The economy [finances] is fantastic and there are so many people doing so many good things.
"We are developing players from seven years old to grown up, we are taking in young players and selling them for a lot of money and we win so many titles in Scotland. So if you want to be negative, you can, but for me it is much more than one thing."
While a sense of anti-climax is sure to engulf Celtic Park on Saturday, Deila insists there is plenty to play for this season.
He said: "You can't say that the season is gone. We have been going for one month and hadn't lost a game before this game.
"We are very disappointed because it [Champions League] was a big target, but there is so much to go for."
Deila is looking forward to the Europa League campaign, which starts next month with a trip to Amsterdam.
He said: "It is a good group. There are some big teams there and there are going to be a lot of exciting games at home and also away.
"At the best, we can beat anybody in that group, but at the lowest level we have also shown that we can lose against anybody."
Before that, Deila wants Celtic to respond to their midweek disappointment when they take on St Johnstone.
"We want to get back on track, that is very important," he said.
Meanwhile, it is understood Celtic have made an offer of around £500,000 for Inverness midfielder Ryan Christie. It is thought the Parkhead club are willing to loan the player back to their Ladbrokes Premiership rivals until the end of the season.
Christie's contract runs until next May, with an option for the Highland club to extend for a further year. The Scotland U21 player is the the son of former Inverness manager and player Charlie Christie, who was a player at Parkhead in the late 1980s.
Christie was named Scottish Football Writers' Association young player of the year last season as he helped Caley win the William Hill Scottish Cup for the first time and finish third in the league.
