The League Cup remains Celtic’s Achilles heel. The Scottish trophy which has eluded them most often. Since beating Saturday's opponents Dundee United in the 1997-98 final, the Parkhead club have won it a further four times. To supporters of smaller, provincial clubs, that would be a form of nirvana. A glorious period of outstanding achievement. Ronny Deila is determined to get his hands on the League Cup after Sunday's final against Dundee United . To Celtic, it’s a source of mild failure. In the same period the club has captured twice as many league titles. And six Scottish Cups The clubs previous two managers, Tony Mowbray and Neil Lennon, didn’t win the League Cup at all and Lennon’s record in cups was a source of occasional unrest. For Ronny Deila, then, the first trophy of his Celtic tenure would be hugely significant. ‘It is something we would remember for the rest of our lives,’ said the Norwegian. ‘Cup finals are big. They are big in Norway and in Scotland and England. This tradition is important.’ Bold and forthright, Deila has publicly pledged to win a Treble. Managers usually play down talk of clean sweeps and banish the very words from their vocabulary. A fatalistic, superstitious streak runs through Scottish football, but Deila isn’t having it. Far from piling pressure on himself or his players, he believes it sets a target to strive for. Celtic expect to win all three domestic trophies every season. Saying so should be no cause for palpitations. ‘I am very calm,’ said Deila with a grin. ‘Maybe too much. Hopefully it will come on Sunday - but we have so many big matches you get used to it. ‘If this had been a small club, the cup final would be totally crazy. It would be all: “Who is going to sit here and what are we going to do with the supporters?” But this club has done it so many times, so it’s very calm. ‘We just prepare for what’s ahead of us and I think we can feel in the atmosphere of the players there is a big game coming up. Again, we can reach one of our targets and that’s important.’ Deila issues instructions to his players during the recent Scottish Cup quarter-final draw with Dundee United . In one sense he is correct. Celtic have been in many cup finals, too many to mention. But he hasn’t. ‘In 2010, Stromsgodset beat a First Division team in the final,’ he recalled. ‘I played in 2001 and won, then lost one in 2002. The cup final is big in Norway, there is only one cup and, like the FA Cup, it’s the last game of the season and is always sold out. ‘I have seen crazy things at the cup final. Things like: “Who is going to sit beside the King?” That’s how it is with small clubs. Not here.’ He believes Celtic are favourites to win because they have the bigger squad. More options. Those options will be diminished if Nir Bitton, an increasingly influential midfielder, fails to overcome a swollen ankle. But Kris Commons is fit again and ready. ‘Kris trained yesterday (Thursday) and looked good,’ reported Deila. ‘Adam Matthews is a bit too early. Bitton will hopefully reach it, though he has still not trained. But he is very determined, so hopefully he will reach it. ‘We will give him until Sunday because he is a very important player. We want him to play and I think he has a good chance.’ That Celtic have the personnel is beyond doubt. There will be more focus at Hampden on the discipline of the teams. Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara poses with the Celtic boss and the League Cup at Hampden . So edgy and ill-tempered – and hugely enjoyable - was the Scottish Cup tie between these two teams at Tannadice last Sunday that people are already looking for ‘afters.’ Evidence of bad blood which might lead to another day of big decisions and navel-gazing over the state of Scottish refereeing. Warning his team to keep their discipline, Deila recalled: ‘It was the same against Rangers. If you lose your discipline there and get a red card you can lose the game. ‘I think we have been disciplined. Last Sunday some things happened after a situation. ‘Again, when something happens like that you must keep discipline and focus. So I expect my players to do that in every game now. ‘We have to be disciplined. We have to think and we have to not do stupid things. Stay on your feet and nothing will happen. ‘You have to have controlled aggression. John Collins is always saying that. We have to be determined and high on motivation and aggression. ‘We have to be clear thinkers about what to do in certain situations. We want the team to be like that and we want to be the same way.’ Chief Executive Peter Lawwell and Deila pictured after Celtic announce new agreement with New Balance . He locked his players away in a form of exile at their Lennoxtown training ground before the Rangers game and has employed similar tactics this week. Nothing has been left to chance. The Scottish League Cup gets a bad press. The crowds are poor, the interest levels low. The semi-finals were played on a Hampden pitch better suited to Chinese rice farmers, but a new surface has been laid for the final and Deila gave it the all-clear after a brief walkabout on Thursday. The prospect of a new Celtic manager going for his first trophy in charge sets a new narrative for Sunday. Nothing will be left to chance in pursuit of the prize. ‘All I do is go to Lennoxtown and then go home,’ said Deila. ‘You have to prepare for whatever is coming up, the next game all the time, and it has been a usual week for us. ‘We have big goals and one of them is to win trophies. The other is to develop the club in the direction I want it to go and they want it to go. ‘We have started well. The first year is always so hard wherever you go. You have to get people to understand what you believe in and you have to get to know people. If we can start by winning a trophy on Sunday, it would be a very good start.’
Celtic play Dundee United in the Scottish League Cup final on Sunday . Ronny Deila's side are bidding to win the domestic treble this season . Deila says losing cup final in Norway was the worst thing he has done .