Celtic ready for another big season ahead

CELTIC'S pre-season efforts have been something of a sign that there is more to come from this team.

Results only tend to matter in these games when you lose—a pre-season habit which has seen some frantic reactions from the Celtic support in previous years—and victories always have a reason to be dismissed. You were fitter than your opponents, they didn’t care, it was an understrength team...

But despite all that, Celtic’s results as they have bounced around the place putting minutes in their legs actually read quite well, and a satisfying 4-0 thrashing over potential Champions League opponents Newcastle only added to that.

There was an influx of black and white jerseys to Glasgow as fans from the North-East poured over the border to see their side in pre-season action. Puffed up by the illusion that a big chequebook makes a big club, they were well-prepared with jibes about the quality of their hosts and a smattering of songs and chants that were clearly designed to rile the home support.

The shoe, however, was quickly on the other foot and the Newcastle faithful were left to watch their side be dismantled by a Celtic team who they might think twice about facing again.

Granted, Newcastle are some way behind Celtic in their pre-season schedule, but Celtic still have some way to go in preparation themselves. Next up is the Como Cup and another opportunity to refine their condition and approach. The side Newcastle faced might have had a bit of a head start, but this wasn’t the Celtic team as it will be at whenever it hits its peak in 2025-26. Yes, the hosts had the edge in fitness, but it was a pre-season match for both sides, and Celtic showed they will offer quality and discipline if they continue like this.

Most importantly, for the fans it was a chance well-taken to turn over English opposition and silence the large numbers of visitors who had arrived in Glasgow on a jolly. Getting one over teams from south of the border is an activity always worth taking part in, and while it lacked the significance of a competitive victory it has served as a useful marker for the pre-season progress.

Getting up to speed

“It was always going to be a really good exercise against a top team and top players, and I thought the boys were very, very good,” Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers, said. “Naturally we’re after fitness and to develop that, but some of the football and the ideas we’ve been talking about and working on over the pre-season, we can see that and it was very impressive.

“What you have to do is be really good with the ball and be really technically good, and that’s what we were. Technically, we were so good in the game and then found our little patterns and that’s when we got into good spaces.”

The purpose of the pre-season, of course, is to be able to claim a place in this year’s edition of the Champions League and mount a strong early defence of the league championship. While the opponents remain uncertain, the coming days will clarify things as the business end of the qualifiers approaches.

Given the creditable showing in last season’s competition, Celtic have put a marker down and fans will expect them to build on that.

Among the new faces who will be hoping to help make that happens in Japanese striker Shin Yamada, from Reo Hatate’s old club Kawasaki Frontale. Given that Japan has been a happy hunting ground in recent seasons for Celtic, he comes in with a lot of potential, but perhaps the Celtic support will be more confident about the return of Kieran Tierney (above).

Tierney—who pulls on the Hoops once again after a spell at Arsenal where he has developed his game—enjoyed great success in his first time at Celtic. His arrival back at the club adds experience and passion to the side, and reunites him with the manager who led him to such glory at his boyhood club.

The Bhoy is back

“It’s been great to be back,” he said. “I’ve only been in Scotland for a few days with the pre-season and stuff, but I feel part of the squad already and that I am settling in well.

“There is some stuff that just feels the exact same. It almost feels like I have never been away, but even when you go up to Lennoxtown, the training ground has come on massively and it’s a great place to be.

“It is still a lot of the same people, although there are a lot of new players for me to get used to as well.

“The personal and collective targets for me are just the same, it’s just to keep Celtic as successful as possible. We want to maintain our place at the top. That is the objective.”

A feeling may remain that Celtic could be making better use of their financial clout to really build on their Champions League gains this coming season, but preparations so far would suggest that the squad is happy and driven, and bursting to get to work.