Deila strives for consistency
Celtic manager Ronny Deila will not make many changes to the team that beat Dinamo Zagreb as he bids to achieve the consistency he is striving for.
Celtic secured a third consecutive victory for the first time under Deila when they beat the Croatians 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Strikers Stefan Scepovic and John Guidetti return from injury and ineligibility respectively when the Scottish Premiership champions host Hamilton on Sunday.
Celtic needed a soft penalty to draw with Motherwell at home following their previous Europa League game and Deila admits he will not be making the number changes that saw him rest the likes of Scott Brown, Kris Commons and Craig Gordon from the start against Stuart McCall's side.
"You learn from every game," the Norwegian said. "We learned that too many changes can cause problems. We made some changes at the break and played much better in the second half - that was a good learning experience.
"It's very important now that we get players who get a relationship together. But when you play so many matches, there are things happening all the time. It's hard.
"We have a good squad but I think in one year you will not think about who is playing or not - then everybody hopefully knows the pattern of how we want to play and the player we use is not so important.
"But now it's important to get an 11 that know each other.
"We are on a good roll now, six games without loss. We will try to keep that as long as possible, hopefully during the whole season.
"I see signs in my team that excite me - the pressing, the full-backs coming forward, and creating things on the sides. We just need to do it for longer periods and Sunday is another opportunity to create more and improve."
It could also be a tough test as Celtic face a team on a nine-match unbeaten run who sit three points above them in the table.
After winning 4-0 at Motherwell last weekend, Hamilton have vowed to go to Celtic Park and attack their hosts.
Deila said: "They have come up and have done very well. They love to fight for each other and they also like to play and want to play. That energy and confidence, they have brought that with them to the top division.
"So we need to be on the top with our attitude and intensity and also get tempo in everything we do."
Hamilton manager Alex Neil has no concerns that his young team will be overawed by their trip to face Scottish Premiership champions Celtic.
Accies make the short trip to Parkhead sitting three points above their opponents in the table following a nine-match unbeaten run which hit new heights with a 4-0 derby win at Motherwell last weekend.
And Neil has seen them rise to big occasions often enough to know that they relish the pressure.
Accies won 10-2 against Morton on the final day of last season to get the goal difference turnaround they would have needed if Dundee had slipped up at home, and they then saw off Falkirk and Hibernian in the play-offs, the latter after losing 2-0 at home.
So he dismissed any notion that they could crumble on the big stage.
"The confidence is sky high at the moment and I don't foresee that happening," Neil said.
"The one thing I want them to do is go and enjoy the experience, go and express themselves and play as well as they can.
"The good thing for our young players so far, if you look at the two Hibs games and Falkirk games, they have played in two high-octane games where the focus is on them, and the response has been excellent.
"If we beat Celtic at Celtic Park, that would be the pinnacle for us. We know the magnitude of the task but it's one we are relishing.
"There is no fear in the group, you have seen that since we came up. We are not scared, we just want to go and play as well as we can. If we're not good enough on the day, we will accept it and move on."
The pre-season relegation favourites are already a fair way to securing their survival after claiming 17 points in eight matches and Neil is happy to keep reassessing their ambitions for the season.
"I think expectations change for everyone, all the time," he said. "If you're on a losing run, your next expectation is to try and pick up a couple of points. If you're continuing to win, your expectations are to continue that run.
"There has always been an expectation within the group, from me to them, and even among themselves.
"They expect for everybody to pull their weight and for each other to do really well, and thankfully that has been the case so far."
Source: PA
