So here we are, in the long summer. The quiet summer.
The summer of relaxing and waiting for the new season to start.
How long since we were last here, in this position?
Years, for sure. More of them than I want to count.
There are no Euros. There is a World Cup, but one being played at the most perverse time.
Most important, there are no qualifiers.
Two key players have departed; Rogic and Bitton. They are expected to be the only ones.
Normally this would cause concern though, except that their replacements are already at Celtic Park. We signed three central midfielders in January; Ange has since confirmed that this was done in part because he knew these two were going.
That is thinking ahead. Our club has done this so seldom that it’s like a shock to the system to see us do it here. We are still going to add a midfield – Ange has confirmed that too – but there is no rush.
There is no panic. There is no concern.
We expect that deals for Jota and Carter Vickers will be done shortly.
We expect that the club will know who the first signings are going to be.
By the time pre-season training starts I think the squad will be just about in place, and although that denies us a sexy run up to the end of the window it also guarantees a smoother ride than we’ve had in ages.
This club has always been good at working hard, but it’s a mark of necessity.
If we worked smarter we wouldn’t have to.
This historical nonsense of transfer deals going to the last minute of the window might have saved a few quid over the years, but it also left us scrambling and the manager under-resourced for critical periods … we have paid for that over and over again, and for the first time in a long time we seem to have learned something.
This summer will not be the rollercoaster ride of the last one.
But who needs that craziness anyway? Who wants it?
This will be infinitely more peaceful, and productive. I am looking forward to it.
To the quiet. To a summer of calm.
It will make this job more difficult, but I welcome it just the same.