Celtic have entered the new campaign with a renewed hunger to claim more silverware and have started impressively under Brendan Rodgers.
Yesterday, the Bhoys saw off Hibernian 3-1 courtesy of a Daizen Maeda brace and Nicolas Kuhn’s commitment to shutting Josef Bursik down.
Mykola Kukharevych replied for the visitors ten minutes before the interval. However, Celtic were dominant on home soil, booking a quarter-final tie against Falkirk next month after recording back-to-back victories over David Gray’s men.
Despite slow movement on the transfer front, Rodgers has his side thriving early into the new campaign. Scoring nine goals and conceding just once in their opening three fixtures, there really isn’t much to complain about on the pitch.
With the potential for additions before the window closes, Celtic will only likely grow stronger over the coming months.
Scott Allan believes that could be ominous for the rest of Scottish football should they continue to sustain the intensity they have applied on the field so far this season.
Scott Allan on why Celtic are looking merciless
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Allan paid tribute to Celtic’s desire to work tirelessly off the ball after they downed Hibernian for the second consecutive week to progress into the Premier Sports Cup last eight.
He explained: “I think the way Celtic are playing at the moment, it’s going to be hard for anybody domestically to live with them. I think with my Hibs hat on, I would say, all week, they would’ve planned on not recreating what happened last week at Easter Road, and it went down the exact same way.”
“Later, he added on Hibernian’s mistake leading to Kuhn’s goal: “Celtic are preying on that. That’s what Brendan Rodgers looks to do: a negative pass back or somebody looks like they’re hesitant on the ball, Celtic are on you.
“They’ve punished teams already this season by going that, and Hibs are just constantly masters of their own downfall.”
Celtic look hungry for more success this term
Despite facing several challenges and injury concerns last term, Celtic got over the line to claim a domestic double. Admittedly, the football on show wasn’t always brilliant, but the Bhoys kicked on when it mattered and showed resolve to see through the arrival of two trophies.
On the eye, Celtic appear a far stronger outfit this time around from the outset. You get the impression they have taken confidence from last campaign’s achievements; meanwhile, the absence of fitness issues has enabled Rodgers to field his strongest line-up on a weekly basis.
Beyond that, having a full pre-season with most of his squad available has allowed him time to communicate his ideas and tweak certain aspects of his philosophy.
The core of experienced figures in his dressing room are responding to his methods. In addition, January signing Kuhn has stepped up after a difficult first few months at the club, illustrating why the Bhoys shelled out £3 million earlier this year for his services.
Hopefully, a few more new faces can be added to the squad before the window closes to provide the required squad depth to maintain what has been an excellent start.
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