Former Celtic manager Ronny Deila is struggling to make things tick in New York as his latest project takes a nasty turn.
Deila, currently in charge of New York City in the MLS, has had a troubled campaign so far. The USA regular season runs from April until November, with NYC a disappointing 8th place in the division. City rivals New York Red Bulls, meanwhile, are one place below them and level on points.
The Norwegian is into his second season after a debut campaign that saw New York reach the playoffs before being disappointingly knocked out in the first round by Orlando City.
Yet despite a talented roster being assembled for the 2021 campaign, there’s a serious danger that Deila will actually miss out on a top-seven finish and actually fail to qualify outright for the playoffs. That would be a massive blow to the club’s support, who came off a record points total of 64 under Domenec Torrent before Deila’s arrival.
The performances this season simply haven’t been good enough. Ronny, who won 2 Premiership titles at Parkhead, has only won 11 of his 29 games this term. Another 11 have ended in defeat. They sit 15th out of 27 in the combined MLS table.
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Ronny Deila struggling to overcome huge pressure in New York
In fairness to Deila, he had a hefty summer rebuild that had to be done after 7 players left the club. In came 10 new talents, and it’s fair to say not enough of them have been a rip-roaring success.
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Recent form has also been a big issue. New York City have won only 1 of their last 9 matches in the MLS. 5 of them have ended in defeat, with The Pigeons failing to score a single goal in any of their last 4 matches.
Deila has tried to defend his team’s form by pointing to the chances created. But the truth is that’s something the Celtic support will remember well too. Particularly when things weren’t going to plan.
A big 5 games await Deila’s New York ahead of the end of the Regular Season fixture list. The goal is simple – qualify for the playoffs. Even that might not be enough to spare Ronny his job. An impressive showing once they get there will also likely be demanded.
But before they even get to that stage, many New York fans have had enough with the weekend’s 1-0 derby loss to Red Bulls proving the final straw. Here’s a look at some of the reaction to the situation on Twitter:
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