Action Stations

Neil Lennon is pleased with how pre-season went for the players, and now the manager is looking forward to the competitive action

- Tony Connelly

THE last time Neil Lennon took Celtic through a full pre-season, the club secured UEFA Champions League football and won the league. The weight of expectation to at least replicate those achievements is greater now than it ever has been for the Irishman, but his summary on Celtic’s recently-concluded pre-season tour suggests the Hoops will hit the ground running in the new campaign.

That historic day in Hampden on May 25 when Celtic won the Scottish Cup to clinch the Treble Treble is still fresh in the minds of supporters, but there has been little time to reflect on the enormity of the achievement.

That is both unfortunate and fortunate. Ideally fans, the players and staff would have the summer to garner their thoughts and dwell on the special season, but the pace of modern football and the demands that come with success, especially at a team like Celtic, affords no time to take a breath. On the other hand, the players are naturally closer to match fitness, having not had too long off.

The new domestic season might be less than four weeks away, but Celtic are already in the midst of competitive football. The Scottish champions arrived back in Glasgow last Wednesday after concluding their 10-day training camp in Austria and Switzerland, and quickly stepped up their preparations for the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against FK Sarajevo.

With European football the focus at the start of the season, and four qualifying rounds to navigate in order to get into the group stages of the Champions League, Neil Lennon’s side know they have to translate the good work they’ve been doing from the training ground to the pitch.