Ronny Deila keen to see Celtic B team in Scottish lower leagues
Boss Ronny Deila would like to see a Celtic B team in the Scottish lower leagues.
The state of the national game is under the spotlight yet again after Scotland's recent failure to qualify for the 2016 European Championships in France with the development of young players at the heart of the debate.
The Norwegian manager does not see his suggestion as being the panacea for all the ills of the Scottish game - "I don't want to come here and think I know everything about football" - but believes clubs having second teams playing competitive football would help bridge the gap between under-20s and the first team.
Ahead of the visit of Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, the former Stromsgodset boss said: "I have seen that in Spain and they have done it for many years in Norway, it is very good.
"We want to bring players in to train with the first team when they are 16/17 years old, like Kieran Tierney and Aidan Nesbitt and we do that.
"When they get to the age of 19 or 20 I think playing in the under-20s team is too easy for them and also it is a big gap between playing for the under-20s and playing at Celtic Park and playing for Celtic.
"So we have to find something in between which is why we put players like Liam Henderson out on loan (to Championship side Hibernian) so he can be important in a team which fights every week for points and it really matters what he does on the pitch.
"So to have a second team in the league is very good.
"Of course that is a big change but you look around in Europe and see what's happening."
Deila is glad to have skipper Scott Brown back from a knee injury, while defender Jozo Simunovic has recovered from a foot knock but midfielder Kris Commons is likely to be out with a combination of a muscle knock and sickness.
The Parkhead boss, whose side six points clear of second-place Hearts, added: "Scott Brown has been an important player for this club for many years. He is running like a 20-year-old so he is ready to play."
Kilmarnock boss Gary Locke will welcome defender Mark Connolly back to his squad for the trip to Celtic Park.
The Irishman has not played since suffering a knee injury against Ross County at the end of August.
However, defender Darryl Westlake is out with an ankle problem while long-term absentee Chris Johnston remains unavailable after tearing knee ligaments.
Conrad Balatoni will be available for Kilmarnock but the defender admits he would rather be plying his trade elsewhere.
The 24-year-old quit Partick Thistle in the summer as he looked to fulfil ambition of playing down south or on the continent.
He featured for Bradford in pre-season and was linked with the likes of Barnsley and Blackpool as well as clubs in Greece and Holland.
But when moves further afield failed to materialise he was forced to pen a six-month deal with Killie.
"It's always a worry when you are out of work and not getting paid," admitted Balatoni. "Like everyone else I had a mortgage and bills to pay.
"But football is different from other jobs and sometimes you just have to take that chance to better your career, so that's why I left Thistle. Hopefully I've made the right decision after Kilmarnock showed some faith in me.
He added: "It's not a secret that I had wanted to go abroad or look down to England during the summer. But things didn't work out and I learned that maybe I should look a bit closer to home at times. The grass isn't always greener.
"My belief is that everything happens for a reason and I'm now back enjoying my football.
"But my biggest ambition remains to try going abroad and sampling a different culture and a different style of football. I don't think enough Scottish footballers go abroad and try and improve themselves."
Source: PAR
