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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Walker

Celtic have 10 MILLION fans claims Ronny Deila as former boss gushes over 'big family' at Parkhead

Former Celtic boss Ronny Deila has claimed the Parkhead side have 10 million fans across the globe.

The Norwegian coach is now leading Standard Liege but reflected on his time in the Scottish Premiership, having this week opened up the stress of managing Celtic for two years up until 2016. He stated that the Glasgow cauldron saw him break out in cold sweats and the experience was like sitting an exam 365 days of the year for two solid years. Despite the experience taking its toll, he still has a strong affinity for the Parkhead support.

He revealed the bond with the fans feels like you are part of a "big family". Asked which club have the better fans between Celtic and Standard Liege, Deila said: "Celtic have more supporters. There are ten million fans who support this club. It's almost a religion there. It's a big family and I feel the same at Standard.

"Which is a good thing because it feels like we're accomplishing something together. For a league match, Celtic Park is calm, which is not the case in the big European matches. And when you face Rangers, the atmosphere is unbelievable.

"But at Standard, the atmosphere there is above average throughout the season. Friends who are English football fans, who support Liverpool and Manchester United, came to see me at our Sclessin ground and said that they never had anything seen so crazy.

"They had never seen such an atmosphere in England. And I completely agree. It's because at Sclessin, the 30,000 supporters present are not tourists. In England, 50 per cent of them are tourists. So we should be proud of that and the club should be very proud. It's a special stadium with special fans."

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