No raining champs so no respite

IT was all about getting wet in Dubai. There are some things you just don’t associate with some places and black clouds in this city are one of them.

Monday saw heavy rain in parts of the UAE. There were also some strong winds kicking about and you know that’s quite something when it’s one of the top stories on a local newspaper website.

Not that any of the general public got as wet as the police officers who plunged into the aquarium in the Dubai Mall to swim with the fish.

A team of coppers zipped up the diving suits to mark the 100th anniversary of Sheikh Zayed’s birth. Once inside the aquarium the policemen unfurled a large banner for shoppers to see thanking the UAE’s founding father.

At end of training yesterday you can bet there were a few Celtic players who would happily have got into that shopping-centre tank with them for a cool off.

Sadly for them there was no sign of the clouds or the rain. After the hell of the bleep test under a baking sun there were some faces brighter than the Burj Khalifa light show.

Brendan Rodgers took the adage of not asking anyone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself literally by joining in. And although Callum McGregor wasn’t for revealing who were first ones out, he did suggest Shug the kitman may have been an early faller.

Patrick Roberts was back out on the grass and, although he’s not ready for proper training at this stage of his recovery from a hamstring tear, it was a welcome sight for the squad nonetheless.

Not as welcome as a rain cloud at 10am would have been, mind you.