Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has opened up on his thoughts surrounding the Hoops’ first two pre-season friendly outings.
The Bhoys returned from an extended summer break last week, travelling to Austria to take part in a pre-season training camp.
Preparations for the 2022/23 campaign have slowly started to ramp up, with Postecoglou’s side taking on Wiener Viktoria and Rapid Wien in their opening friendly fixtures.
So far, the Hoops are unbeaten after two fixtures, defeating the third division Austrian side 7-0 and being held to a 3-3 draw against Rapid.
Postecoglou has been left pleased with his side’s preparations as he reflected upon the two games, explaining why they have been a good test.
He said [Celtic TV]: “I think the good thing for us so far is that they have been good pre-season games (against Wiener Viktoria and Rapid Wien).
“The first one was obviously against lesser opposition, but I think for what it was as an exercise, the players showed good intent, and we got what we wanted out of it.
“The second game, like I said after, felt like a real competitive game at times, which is really important for us. Whilst this year, we have the luxury of not having European qualifiers, they can also be a little bit of preparation for the real stuff.
“So, in the absence of that, it’s really important that our pre-season friendly games reflected as much on competitive fixtures.
“The Rapid (Wien) was certainly a good game, and I think when you play them in the main stadiums, in front of supporters, then they are much more of a worthwhile exercise than when you play the same opposition at a training venue.”
Further tests to come for Postecoglou and his squad.
Ange Postecoglou’s side has made a positive start to the pre-season friendlies and there are still more tests for them to face over the next two weeks.
The Hoops have travelled to the Czech Republic and will face Banik Ostrava later on this evening, before returning to Celtic Park to take on English opposition in Blackburn Rovers.
To round off pre-season, Celtic have two final pre-season fixtures against Legia Warsaw and Norwich City.
The Celtic manager will be hoping that all six friendlies have warmed his squad up nicely, in good timing for the competitive action returning at the end of this month.
In other news, Cameron Carter-Vickers becomes latest Celtic star to lay down brilliant pre-season message.
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