IT’S ALL CHANGE
Celts’ pre-season plain sailing following chaos of last summer
ANGE POSTECOGLOU has gone through a completely different build-up this time around.
Twelve months ago the Aussie went into day one of the Premiership campaign with chaos, uncertainty and disappointment in the background.
Celtic had just returned from Denmark after a painful exit from the Champions League at the hands of Midtjylland and the manager was frantically trying to acquire signings to build a squad.
Fast forward from July 31, 2021 to July 31, 2022 and everything will be the opposite. There’s no worries over Champions League qualifiers because last term’s successes means Celtic don’t have any.
The nucleus of Postecoglou’s squad has been in place for months and there is a settled and harmonious feel around the camp.
Postecoglou assessed the alterations in the mood and makeup of the preparation and said: “It’s definitely different, for sure. Last pre-season, I’ve mentioned it a few times, was chaotic and frenetic as we had people coming and going.
“Same when the season started after round one in terms of players moving in and out. So it’s been a different pre-season. We’ve been able to plan it differently and make sure we got a certain amount of work done you can’t do when
there is uncertainty around as there was last year. From that point of view it’s been good. But our preseason last year wasn’t great and it didn’t stop us from being champions.
“So that’s not an indicator of how you’ll go. The fact we’ve had a calmer pre-season doesn’t guarantee we will be ready to go on Sunday.
“We have to make sure we come out and try to play our best and show that the pre-season we’ve had has prepared us for what’s ahead.”
Carl Starfelt will be absent for the visit of the Dons while fellow central defender Moritz Jenz is a doubt after taking a knock in training.
It is definitely different from last season - it was chaotic & frenetic. There
was uncertainty