“I’m very thankful for the way he told me that and made me. He told me straight: ‘This is what you need to do.’ And I did it.
“That was exactly the help I needed at the time.”
Johansen and Deila, of course, met up again in the summer following Lennon’s departure after leading the Hoops to their third successive SPFL title.
The player reckons Deila is the best he has ever worked with. He said: “Yeah, of course, it’s difficult to say anything else.
“I was down when I came to Stromsgodset and he made it clear what I had to do better and he gave me the chance.
“He is an important manager for my career considering where I am now. To have him at Celtic is just great.
“It’s helped me. Like I say, I know him well and he talks to me on what I need to be better at.”
The international ace added: “I think I’m in the best form of my career.
“It’s just great the body is responding this well and I’m scoring goals and getting assists. I’m very happy with my performances, but there is a long way to go.
“This is the reason why you play football, you want to play in games where you can win titles.
“We won the League Cup on Sunday and have a Scottish Cup quarter-final tonight, it’s much fun. That’s the best thing as a footballer.”