Celtic manager Ronny Deila wants the Hoops top by Christmas

Celtic boss Ronny Deila has set his sights on leading the Scottish Premiership by Christmas after a poor start to their league campaign.

The Hoops took a step towards advancing in the Europa League with a 2-1 home win over Romanian outfit Astra Giurgiu on Thursday, taking them level on points with Group D leaders Red Bull Salzburg.

The Scottish champions now turn their attention to domestic affairs as they prepare for the visit of Kilmarnock on Sunday.

"I hope we are ahead when we come to Christmas, that's a goal of course," Deila told The Herald.

"But we'll see what's happening. Every game is difficult and we need to perform well and get the results we want.

"But I hope when we come to the first of January we are ahead. If we are 15 points behind at Christmas then it will be hard to get going of course. The points have to come."

The Glasgow giants currently sit in fifth place, six points behind leaders Hamilton Academical who dropped points at Dundee this afternoon.