After the renaissance of Leigh Griffiths and the emergence of Stefan Johansen who might just be a stick on for player of the season another Celtic star has told how he has benefitted from Ronny Deila’s methods.
Nir Bitton who struggled to get into the side during the first half of the season has now cemented his place in Ronny Deila’s team but it wasn’t an easy task for the Israeli international.
The midfielder was candid when asked about his struggle to break through into the team.
“He wants the best players possible in the team because he wants to win. So I had to improve and to change how he wanted me to play to show I should be picked.” explained Nir.
“I understood that I needed to change myself, that I needed to improve. I am happy I did it.”
There has been a notable improvement in the player since he set out to get into Deila’s plans and he’s yet another bhoy who has bought into the managers methodology. Admitting that he once didn’t bother if he was on the bench or left out the squad but after a heart to heart with the manager he feels energised at Celtic.
“But everyone wants to play. I tried to change to the way the gaffer wants to play and show him I wanted to change. There were a lot of conversations between us and I am happy how it has worked out.”
There were so many detractors at the start of the season when Ronny was struggling to get his ideas over to the players. Many will admit complacency may have crept in. Fast forward to now and you have a squad full of players who are bursting a gut to get into the team and stay there getting fitter and sharper in the process.
Nir is still a doubt for the cup final on Sunday but there is still a chance he may start the game. We can only hope he’ll be ready to go.
