Celtic intensity levels already sky-high during "tough" Austria double-session

By David Walton

July 5, 2022

Celtic defender Anthony Ralston has stated that the intensity levels in Austria are already high after the club’s first double-session today.

The Hoops are away on their pre-season training camp with their first warm-up match coming tomorrow night against Wiener Viktoria.

The camp comes just 3-and-a-half weeks before Celtic face Aberdeen in their first competitive match of the Premiership season. And with Ange Postecoglou’s men coming off a big double-winning season last year, expectations are sky-high.

Ralston has been speaking to Celtic TV however, and has bigged up the intensity of the training sessions as the internationals returned to the fold:

“We’ve been here before in Austria doing pre-season and it’s a lovely country. It’s good to get the work done and it’s a good environment to do it. The complex and the training pitches we’ve got is good. So it’s just about getting all the boys and getting ready to go for the first game of the season.

“It’s been tough, it’s been hard but it’s been good. We’re just implementing our standards again, where we were last season and where we finished is where we want to start and improve on going into the new season. It’s exactly what the gaffer’s drilling into us early doors. We all know what’s expected at this club so we’re just ready to go.

“It’s just putting the work in. The way the training sessions and the games are laid out, it’s there for us to go and put the work in, to improve and get everything in place both technically and with your fitness as well so that when that first game of the season comes you’re ready to go.”

Celtic won’t be taking things lightly in Austria

We all know there’s a feel-good factor surrounding the club at the moment. It came from last season’s incredible double-success and has continued through our transfer business this summer.

However, Ange and the Celtic players will know how quickly it can take that feel-good factor to dissipate. It can even go before the competitive action begins if we’re not careful.

Indeed, there’s an expectation surrounding this pre-season schedule nevermind the Premiership or Champions League campaigns. Celtic fans expect to see strong showings from the off given this is a team that’s already had a year to gel.

For once, we’re not looking at a squad with a host of new faces in it. We’re looking at a group of winners that are simply looking to build on what they achieved last season. And they’ll know how important pre-season victories are to morale and momentum.

Given the competition that exists within the squad this season too, we should see an increased level of performance in pre-season than we’re used to. So many players will be battling to try and make their mark before the Champions League kicks off in September.

So it’s great to see the players putting in the early work in Austria. Hopefully, we see the benefits of that extremely quickly.

In other news, Report: Everton not the only club in talks to join Celtic in Sydney