Celtic set for 6 games in 18 days; hectic pre-season schedule in full

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Celtic are set for a hectic 6 games in 18 days as their rigorous pre-season schedule gets underway.

The Hoops have a host of first-team stars back in training ahead of the 2022/23 season, which is already hotting up with anticipation from the Celtic support.

As is always the case, the attention has already turned to our first pre-season game on July 6th. That will take place during Celtic’s training camp in Austria with the Hoops taking on SC Wiener Viktoria.

And that’s when the schedule really does start to pick up for the players. 3 days later will see the Hoops travel to Rapid Vienna before a trip across the border to face Czech Republic side Banik Ostrava on the 13th.

The Hoops will then come back to Scotland to face Blackburn Rovers at Celtic Park on the 16th of July. Our final pre-season game will see Norwich come to Parkhead for a clash on July 23rd but only after a trip to Poland for Artur Boruc’s testimonial on the 20th.

It’ll be interesting to see which players come to the fore before the Premiership campaign kicks off on July 31st.

Celtic set for packed schedule before Premiership begins

Of course, it’s important to remember the rotation policy Ange Postecoglou will have in place for these fixtures. Our strongest XI won’t start every single pre-season game. There will be a host of changes most likely for every single fixture in a bid to get minutes into as many players as possible.

Pre-season isn’t just about building up the strength of the first-team players. It’s about ensuring everyone in the squad is as geared up as possible to tackle their respective roles.

Ange Postecoglou will be looking for his top starts to build up a certain level of fitness ahead of the new campaign. However, it will also give benchwarmers and youngsters the opportunity to make their own impression on things.

The manager has already outlined that his demands will be high when it comes to his players’ pre-season efforts. The trip to Austria will be anything but a holiday. Considering how close the new campaign is to kicking-off, the work will undoubtedly be tiring.

Of course, it shouldn’t be much of a problem getting many of these Celtic players back up to speed. With the number of stars that were competing on the international stage over the summer, we should be in a good place when the league campaign begins.

But at the moment, we just can’t wait to see them all back in action once more.

In other news, Report: Nir Bitton involved in contract standoff as post-Celtic move unclear