Ange Postecoglou on Celtic training today and how the squad are feeling; injury update

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Ange Postecoglou has described his Celtic squad as “nice and bright and energetic” ahead of tomorrow’s mammoth match against FC Midtjylland.

The manager took his squad through their final full training session at Lennoxtown this morning. He then joined Callum McGregor in a joint media conference to discuss the midfielder’s new captaincy and the Midtjylland tie.

A lot of interesting news came out of it all including the return of Leigh Griffiths to the squad, the confirmation of no wildcard additions to the squad and Postecoglou’s apparent unease with transfer business this summer.

The new Bhoys boss also talked about today’s training and the mood of the squad, as he prepares to take charge of his first-ever competitive fixture with the club.

Postecoglou said [CelticFC.com and YouTube]: “We had a good session today and we got a few more bodies out there in terms of players who had some niggly injuries that didn’t play at the weekend. The squad was nice and bright and energetic.

“We’ve had a few who’ve had a few niggly injuries that we’ve been protecting a bit. But they’re all available tomorrow. The guys on the list are all available.

“It was good to see them out there. Ismaila Soro was out there, Nir Bitton was out there – guys who are important members of the squad. It felt like a good training session.

“It’s an important fixture for the football club, it’s an important fixture for our year ahead. We’re looking forward to it.”

It sounds like we could well see a more experienced side tomorrow than we’ve come to expect elsewhere in pre-season.

If Postecoglou has been specifically protecting players like Bitton and Soro then the likes of Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide could drop out.

However, it’s undeniable the squad is still significantly undercooked for an encounter of such importance.

All we can do now is hope that Postecoglou’s and the squad’s work over the last two weeks has better prepared them than anyone has expected.

Roared on by 9,000 fans for the first time in 16 months, all is not lost.

In other news, Ange Postecoglou addresses notable Celtic squad absentees.