FORMER Celtic boss Ronny Deila is preparing Valerenga for Sunday’s home game against Lillestrom that could save his new team from a relegation play-off place.
The Norwegian returned to his homeland after his two-year reign at Parkhead came to an end last season.
Deila wasn’t expected to take over Valerenga until after the current campaign. However, with the team in trouble he agreed to an early start.
Last week he celebrated his managerial comeback with a crucial 3-0 win at Tromso. After six matches without a win, Henrik Johansen opened the scoring in the 49th minute. Further goals from Mohammed Abdellaoue and Ghayas Zahid put the result beyond Tromso and eased the play-off fears of Valerenga.
After the announcement that he was taking charge was made, Deila said: “We think it is a good solution and I am very excited to be with the team now.
“There will be no major changes, but sometimes it is nice to get a new voice and maybe it’s good that the voice has been on the beach for three months and not been involved in a long and hard season.
“We have shown previously that we can beat anyone in this league, but we need to raise the performance we had against Stabaek (a 1-1 home draw).
“The training has been very good. Now it’s about finding the right level of tension. I am very optimistic. I look forward to fighting and it is wonderful to be going again.”
With only two games to go in the league, a win on Sunday against fellow-strugglers Lillestrom will go a long way to ensuring top-flight safety.
