Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has urged his players to take pre-season seriously. It comes amid the Hoops enduring contrasting fortunes in their opening two friendlies.
A 1-1 stalemate with Ayr United on Friday got the players back into the swing of things, while last night’s 6-4 victory was littered with positives and negatives.
Rodgers wanted much more from his side’s pressing against Queen’s Park but waxed lyrical about Kyogo Furuhashi and youngster Francis Turley.
Both got on the scoresheet in the victory which set the Bhoys up nicely for their USA tour.
DC United, Chelsea, and Manchester City lie in wait for the Scottish champions across the pond, with the manager urging his players to see the games not as friendlies, but as tests.
“I say to the players, and Kyogo typified that – for me, they’re not pre-season friendlies”, he said (Glasgow Times).
“They never are. It’s a pre-season test. When you’re a Celtic player, you walk out at a big club, it’s never a friendly, because the other team will always raise the game. So, see them as a test.”
While the gaffer sees pre-season clashes as tests, they are also an opportunity for many players. Friendlies are the only chance some men may get to make a positive impression on Rodgers and his staff.
The likes of Bosun Lawal, Odin Holm, and Turley have done that so far in 2024/25, but there is a long way to go yet before the real stuff kicks off.
