Ronny Deila revealed the lack of improvement in his side during the last six months led to his decision to leave Celtic at the end of the season.

The Norwegian’s imminent departure was announced in a statement on Wednesday and came after the Hoops were beaten by Old Firm rivals Rangers in a penalty shoot-out in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park.

Celtic are eight points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Premiership with five post-split games remaining, the first against Ross County at Parkhead on Sunday.

Deila, who took over in 2014, said: “I have been thinking about this for a while because I haven’t felt the team has got the results they should have.

“When I came in to the job I talked about improving the team and playing attractive football and I think the last six months we haven’t had the progress that we need.”

Now that the speculation about his future is over, Deila is looking to end his time at Celtic Park by clinching his second, and the club’s fifth, successive title.

The former Stromsgodset boss said: “Improvement is one of my biggest values and when you don’t get it, it kills me inside and I lose energy with that.”

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