Three Celtic stars with big question marks have come flying out of pre-season

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Pre-season is now over for Celtic and there’s a fair chance you’re pretty happy about that.

Sure, after six weeks or so of no Hoops action it’s always nice when the team return for a mid-July friendly.

But that novelty soon wears off and, while our pre-season fixtures were pretty enjoyable this year, all that truly matters is the competitive action.

That’s the fan view anyway. Players would be likely to tell you a different story. Three Celtic stars in particular.

There were big questions over Liel Abada, Daizen Maeda and Alexandro Bernabei when Brendan Rodgers arrived at the club six weeks ago.

To an extent those questions still remain. Nothing has truly been earned yet. But all three come out of pre-season flying and ready for the competitive action.

Many may not have expected Abada to still be at the club at this stage. The Israel attacker was widely expected to depart this summer in search of more playing time.

However, a private chat with Rodgers convinced him to stay. Abada looked really lively during pre-season. He was arguably our best player in Japan, and backed that up against Wolves and Athletic Club.

With unknowns about James Forrest, Marco Tilio and Hyunjun Yang, that right-wing berth looks like Abada’s to lose. You’d certainly expect to see him start against Ross County.

On the other side, Maeda looked electric in pre-season. Again, questions existed over where he would fit in to a Rodgers team.

He was viewed by many as a player from the previous regime. A new contract very much put the myth that he wouldn’t fancy it under Rodgers to bed.

Maeda’s first touch looks as good as ever. He was probably our best attacking threat in the first-half on Tuesday night. He looks dangerous on the left and up front if needs be.

Finally, Alexandro Bernabei may have started winning some people over. He still has a lot of work to do, and far more than Abada and Maeda, but two goals and a desire to get forward have many suggesting that he could be our big surprise this season.

Bernabei’s main strengths — energy and a pace — may be utilised more in a Rodgers team than under the previous regime.

He is still likely to find himself behind Greg Taylor in the left-back pecking order. But the signs are far more promising than they were several weeks ago.

He has started to answer some questions.

In other news, Brendan Rodgers was playing it cool over the fitness of Cameron Carter-Vickers after Tuesday’s game