RONNY DEILA became a Half-Century Bhoy in Celtic’s splendid 3-0 win over Dundee United at the weekend.
The Norwegian has now been in charge for 50 competitive games since taking over from Neil Lennon in the summer.
In those encounters, the Norwegian has seen the Hoops lift the League Cup, cement a semi-final place in the Scottish Cup against Inverness Caley Thistle next month and move five points ahead of Aberdeen with a game in hand at the top of the Premiership.
Deila can now claim a record of 32 wins, eight draws and 10 defeats.
The manager admitted he was not aware he had reached this milestone and said: “It has gone in very quickly. But, you know, we are playing so many games and, it seems, all of the time.
“This is a special moment, though, and a proud moment for me. Hopefully, there are going to be many, many more.”
The immediate target is to improve his 64 per cent win rate in the maximum 12 games Celtic will play between now and the end of the season.
Deila added: “I think we are much more consistent than we were before. The performances are better as well.
“We are excited now and in a much better position going into the very important months of April and May.”
Deila’s Hoops managerial debut was on July 15 in the Champions League qualifier against KR Reykjavik in Iceland where Callum McGregor netted the only goal of the game.
His team was: Forster; Lustig, Ambrose, Van Dijk, Izaguirre; Johansen, Mulgrew; Griffiths, Commons, McGregor; Stokes. Subs: Zaluska, Matthews, O’Connell, Kayal, Henderson, Boerrigter, Pukki.
English international keeper Fraser Forster joined Southampton in a £10million deal three weeks later and Israeli midfielder Beram Kayal was sold to Brighton during the January transfer window. Tony Watt was offloaded to Standard Liege for £1.2million after failking to show his potential in the pre-season outings.
Finnish flop Teemu Pukki was loaned to Brondby on a season-long deal after failing to impress Deila. His last appearance was the 1-0 defeat at Inverness Caley Thistle before he was shipped out to Denmark.
The former Stromsgoset gaffer has shelled out £4.2million in transfer fees bringing in Stefan Scepovic, £2.2m from Sporting Gijon in August, and £2m on Dundee United double-act Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven in January.
He also arranged season-long loan deals for Manchester City duo Jason Denayer and John Guidetti.
Jo Inge Berget arrived from Cardiff City, but was returned when his contract expired in January. Deila also fixed up Marabak Wakaso, from Russian outfit Rubin Kazan, and Aleksandar Tonev, from Aston Villa. He allowed Dylan McGeough to go to Hibs for the campaign.
Craig Gordon had already agreed to join in the summer after two years in the wilderness.
His other piece of transfer business was selling Czech Republic youngster Filip Twardzik to Lennon’s Bolton in January.
