Celtic’s game yesterday was never going to be a classic. It was typical, drab, pre-season fare.
The media has not focussed overmuch on it – they are too busy focussing on how Sevco’s prospective European opponents lost a friendly – and that’s the only good thing that can be said about our hacks today. Some Celtic fans are already expressing discontent.
What did we learn yesterday that we didn’t already know?
Nothing whatsoever.
Friendly matches are not learning experiences for managers unless they come late in the cycle, when tweaks to tactics and playing systems might be made. Early friendlies are about fitness and top teams know better than to press too hard in them. They are about bringing the squad up to peak, and the intention is that by the time we open our Champions League campaign we’ll be there.
We didn’t play particularly well in the second half in particular, but there were so many changes made to the team that this is hardly surprising. Every player has to get his turn. Every player needs to gain peak fitness the best way possible; playing actual games.
Celtic fans need to be calm. Competitive football is coming and I do not believe this season we’ll see a Lincoln Red Imps style defeat. That was a one off, an aberration at the start of what Brendan was trying to do, a result that will not be repeated in a million years.
We will need to be significantly better than yesterday if we are to beat Rosenborg, but the time those games comes around we’ll be much fitter and stronger than we are now and there will have been games in between times when that will be shown.
What fans are worried about of course is the question as to “What if …?” What if the same problems and the same as they were in the last domestic campaign; too many games where we failed to hit the back of the net? And I understand that, of course.
But honestly, I don’t think it’s an issue. I think last season was just one of those seasons where things go a little turbo. Our critics would do well to remember that we still won a domestic treble. We have the best team in the country. I think we can definitely win another.