Samme dag som Ronny Deila ble presentert som ny manager i Celtic, ringte journalister konstant til leder og talsmann i GodsetUnionen, Marius Paulsen Andreassen. En av de var skotske Kenny Millar, journalist i Skottlands største avis. Han var sendt til Drammen og ønsket en prat med supporterlederen. Her er artikkelen som prydet papirutgaven av Skottlands største avis neste dag:
«» City wovs to see boss off in style
RONNY DEILA helped build the family home.
Now the Stromsgodset supporters want to blow the roof right off it on Monday night. Locals had hoped their beloved boss might take charge for one last time against Haugesund. But even if it’s just a half-time wave they want the chance to say a proper goodbye to the man who brought them unprecedented success. His triumphs on the pitch and off it in the transfer market have allowed Godset to expand their Marienlyst Stadium.
On Monday they could seal a 45-game unbeaten home record — smashing the Norwegian record in the process.
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They haven’t lost there since June 2011 against Molde and supporters’ chief Marius Paulsen Andreassen said: “Monday is a very special game for everyone at Stromsgodset and it’s a sellout.
“As supporters we i’m sure you will see some banners, so Ronny knows exactly how much we care about him. I really hope he will be there. Everything has happened so quickly, from the rumours of Celtic’s interest on Wednesday to me watching his first press conference there, that it would be upsetting not to say a proper goodbye. To get the national record for unbeaten home games would send him off to Scotland in style. It’s a measure of how popular he is that no-one I’ve spoken to is angry or upset with him leaving. You can’t say No to a big club like Celtic and we’re just proud that he’s getting this chance. He turned down Malmo in January but it’s totally understandable that this time it’s different.”
Speak to anyone in Drammen — and I mean ANYONE — and you’d be hard-pushed to find a more popular person.
Andreassen said: “When he took over we had the oldest team in the league but he told us he would change everything and he was true to his word.»
“There was a time when it looked like we might be relegated but we stuck with him because we believed in him and we were right to do that. That same year we stayed up and, thats was then he took off all his clothes at the side of the pitch! Now, despite selling some of our best players almost every summer, we have finished second and won the league.»
“We play an exciting brand of football and every week six or seven local boys play. Just look at Stefan Johansen. He’s one of Norway’s best players but when he arrived he was a 19-year-old reserve player at a lower-league club with question marks over his attitude. Now look at him.”
Andreassen, a trainee train driver, thinks Deila will go down a storm with Hoops supporters — and particularly with the Green Brigade.
He said: “I have watched a lot of videos of the Celtic-fans. They are maybe the most impressive fans out there. They will love Ronny. In his pre-match routine he’ll walk over to the stand where the hardcore supporters stand and he’ll kick the fence repeatedly to get the fans going».
“He’s very passionate about and lives every 90 minutes. He understands what fans want because he is one himself. He treats supporters with respect and that’s why he will always be a hero to us. We’ll follow his fortunes in Glasgow and maybe even see him in the Champions League qualifiers!” «»