Greg Taylor and James Forrest give inside track on Celtic pre-season hard work in the USA

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Celtic are enjoying pre-season in the United States as the squad build up to their first match of the tour against DC United this weekend.

Commencing at 12.30 am on Sunday (GMT), supporters will be excited to see the Bhoys back in action, including new goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo.

Brendan Rodgers’ men have already visited the White House, among other excursions Stateside, with plenty of time already spent on the training field despite the warm climate.

Ultimately, the USA Tour will act as the perfect warm-up act ahead of the competitive action commencing next month, providing match sharpness and stiff tests against Major League soccer opposition, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Speaking ahead of the Bhoys’ clash against DC United at Audi Field, Greg Taylor and James Forrest have given their verdict on how it has gone so far.

Greg Taylor and James Forrest on Celtic pre-season

Both Forrest and Taylor are experienced campaigners at Celtic, and will know the benefits of heading elsewhere during pre-season to experience different surroundings before the bread and butter begins.

The pair have moved to talk up the tour of the United States. Forrest started off, stating: “Twelve years ago I came to America with Celtic, so it’s good to come back. We do the hard training in the morning then we get to see the city in the afternoon, so it’s a good balance.

“The first day, it was very warm, but the session wasn’t too hard. We trained again today and it was a bit more cloudy so I think that helped. In pre-season its good to get away from Scotland and train somewhere else.”

Taylor then added his own thoughts, saying: “It’s been a good start to the trip. Obviously Washington’s an amazing city, and we also had a tour of the White House, which was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

It is great to see Celtic players enjoying themselves on tour, which is a refreshing sight after a long summer with club football on the back burner.

Hard work lies ahead; nevertheless, the three scheduled matches will present valuable opportunities to tour the United States while adding match sharpness ahead of the Scottish Premiership starting up again in early August.

Hopefully, supporters will also be able to see a few new signings travel across the Atlantic to take part in pre-season following the arrivals of Schmeichel and Sinisalo.