Ronny Deila '˜hungry' for new job as Celtic exit looms

Outgoing Celtic manager Ronny Deila is keen to remain working abroad when he leaves the club. Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS Group

But Ronny Deila would be prepared to forego recharging his batteries and instead jump straight into a new job if it appealed to him.

Even before he steps down from the Scottish champions, Deila has already been linked with the head coach’s position at Brondby.

He insists he is unaware of any interest in him from the Danish club and that the only definite decision he has made about his future so far is that it will remain outside his native Norway.

“I want to stay abroad,” said Deila. “I have done everything I can in Norway. I’ve been abroad now and want to stay abroad. Could I manage another club in Scotland? That’s hard to say, you never know in football.

“I don’t know anything about Brondby. Again, it is rumours and there will be a lot of rumours now. But Denmark is definitely abroad for Norwegians, just like England is for Scots!

“What I know now is that I have three games left at  Celtic, then I’m going to have a vacation. But I am hungry to keep working as a coach. I have learned a lot at Celtic, have gained a lot of experience and I want to stay abroad.

“When I work again will depend on what kind of job is available. If the job is right for me, I can start at once. If it isn’t right, then I will just have a good time in Marbella and wait and see.”

Deila admits that his next assignment is likely to be a step down from both the stature of club and weight of expectations he has encountered at Celtic.

“The most important thing for me is that I suit the style of the organisation and how they run things at their club,” he added.

“I will take with me the wisdom that I have gained here. But it is going to be difficult to get as high pressure a job as I had here. It would have to be a very, very good football team. I don’t think there are a lot of clubs even in the English Premier League which have that pressure. I think you have to go to the top six or seven teams down there to get that.”

Deila, meanwhile, has backed former Swansea City and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’ credentials following a shift in the betting which saw his odds cut this week to become Celtic’s next manager.

The Northern Irishman has been out of work since his dismissal by Liverpool last October but has an admirer in Deila who has encountered him on several occasions.

“He’s a modern manager,” said Deila. “He works a lot with processes and talks a lot with his players. He’s very good on the training pitch and he’s very determined and very clear in what he wants.

“He is a very nice human being. He did a good job at Liverpool and a fantastic job at Swansea. I have only positive things to say about him.”