Ronny Deila will look for leadership this evening as Celtic take on Ajax, but perhaps more importantly will be the sense of authority that the Norwegian exudes from his vantage point at the side of the pitch.

In one sense, the Celtic boss is entitled to feel that he has been cursed in Europe this season. Individual mistakes have led to a chaotic backline that has wrecked any good work Celtic have done offensively and he goes into tonight’s critical game against Ajax with his own reputation hanging by a thread.

He could have done without fresh injury issues to key men. Scott Brown’s loss will seriously impact on a midfield that is without the suspended due of Nir Bitton and Stefan Johansen. The latter has been anonymous this term in Continental competition for the club this season but the former has been one of Celtic’s better players.

That Kris Commons will also not make it stunts the creativity that this Hoops side so often lack.

But for Deila the challenge very much remains to show that he can coax a performance from this Celtic team that gives traction to his belief that the club are progressing, that they are capable of making inroads into the UEFA Champions League next season.

His rallying call tonight has a strong sense of urgency attached to it although he has insisted that there is no fear from Celtic ahead of the game.

“You have to have no fear every time,” said Deila. “There is nothing to fear. The worst thing that can happen is that you can lose. You don’t lose your life, things will go on.

“The worst thing can happen is to go onto the pitch and not give 100 per cent, either keeping something back and being afraid to do what you want.

“That’s what I mean about being fearless, go on and show what you are capable of and you’ll get what you deserve.

“We have to go for three points and have 90 minutes to do that.

“We will look to do a lot of the things we did against Fenerbahce, while avoiding the easy mistakes.

“We have good players, so I have a belief we can do it.

“We are prepared for Ajax. We saw they scored four goals from set-plays at the weekend and we are prepared for that. It was the same in Amsterdam, but we also scored the same way there. They have weaknesses we are also aware of and it is down to us to play with a lot of the same things we did in Amsterdam.

“We know Ajax are offensive and we’ll get our chances if we defend in the right way and take them when they are unbalanced.”

It will be a young team that goes up against Frank de Boer’s side and Deila has called on the likes of Dedryck Boyata, Leigh Griffiths and Stuart Armstrong to step up to the plate and take on leadership roles.

The Celtic manager has watched a clutch of young players grow into the first-team this season but now he wants to see them show the right level of aggression and spirit as his side fight for their European lives.

“It is a young team Ajax have as well so it is a quite similar situation for the two teams,” said Deila.

“Scott has a lot of experience and is important for the team. But a lot of the other players are now starting to get a good rate of important games. This gives people the possibility to step up and become that leader we are talking about.

“I talk to the players all the time and I can name the players who need to do that. Dedryck Boyata is one. He is a young 25, because he has not played so many games. He is getting experience now and needs to step up.

“If we are going to do something in Europe now and in the future, we need players who adapt to that level and can be leaders on the pitch.

“Stefan Johansen, Nir Bitton, Leigh Griffiths, Tom Rogic and Stuart Armstrong - these players need to step up and be men when you get into situations like we did against Malmo and Molde.”

Meanwhile, the Celtic manager will look to bring in some experience when the transfer window opens again in January.

Celtic’s blueprint in recent years has been to bring in youngsters, develop them and sell on for a substantial profit. That remit is unlikely to change significantly, although Deila did maintain that he would like to bring in players who have already established themselves in small European leagues in an attempt to offer the younger players at the club a level of guidance and experience.

“We have a lot of talent, but you need leaders or parents to the players to get them to grow,” he said. “I would rather have one or two players that can stretch the level and have experience than have five youngsters who are talented players because you can’t get through all the ties.

“Ryan Christie is coming, Scott Allan, McGregor, Nesbitt; you need leaders around these young boys to get the best of out of them.

“We have to have balance in things.

“We know what kind of budget we have. It is possible. We have to look at players who are important in their teams and is not in the biggest leagues. You don’t get a guy from the Premier League who is playing week in, week out. We also get players who are in their way not good enough for that level, but who are straight under and want to have a different challenge.”

The challenge for Deila tonight is much more immediate.