Celtic fans’ 53-day wait for Hoops return is nearly over; plenty has changed already

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Celtic fans now only have two days more to wait for their team to make a return.

It’s always the way isn’t it? Whenever we’ve ended campaigns in disappointing fashion over the years (granted not recently). it never truly matters how disappointed you are. Come pre-season time you’re itching to see Celtic back in action and ready to go through all the motions again.

Of course, this time around there really is reason to get believing again. There really is a reason for optimism. Because so much at Celtic has already changed since our last fixture.

Think back 51 days ago. Hibernian 0-0 Celtic. Another inept performance to round off the season with John Kennedy once again showing dreadful in-game management skills and providing false promises to the support.

At that stage, we were all fed up. We had just watched months and months of dreadful performance after dreadful performance. A failure to fix basic errors that had been plaguing us all season. We couldn’t sort out our issues from set-pieces whilst we were far too tame going forward. Nothing was improving.

A fresh, vibrant Celtic look set to return this week

There is so much still to be done this summer. In fact, the truth is we’ve hardly even begun our recruitment work. Why, then, does it feel as though so much has changed at Parkhead?

Because quite simply, it has. Celtic have a new manager in place that looks like both a straight-talker and an assertive figure. A manager known for attacking football and who plays the way Hoops fans demand of their team. A man who’s been a winner wherever he’s been and is as motivated as ever to do the same at Celtic.

We have a new CEO in Dom McKay who is looking to engage with fans more than the club has been used to in recent years. A CEO ready to open the doors to fan media and allow the club to be held properly accountable by those who love them.

The readiness of Celtic fans to give both Postecoglou and McKay an opportunity to thrive has led to a massive turnaround in morale. That’s been shown with the incredible number of season tickets sold by the club already.

Yet there’s still so much to do. Celtic as a football club is actually moving forward once again. It’s managed to unite the support by replacing key figures who deserved to be shown the door after a disastrous campaign. The potential of this football club remains as unreal as ever.

The new regime has led to renewed vibrancy once again. There’s a confidence in the support that we finally have the right men in place. That alone, combined with the optimism only a new season can bring, has led to massive changes at this football club compared to that day at Easter Road.

We still have a full transfer window to go too with a massive rebuilding job still to be complete. Celtic fans are ready for what lies ahead, however, and Wednesday’s game against Sheffield Wednesday will see the Hoops return to action with a spring in their step.

In other news, Celtic have nothing to gain by comparing their recruitment work to our rivals’.