MARTIN O’NEILL believes Celtic are as equipped as they can be for kick-off against Sporting Lisbon at 5.30pm at the Algarve Stadium this evening.
The champions are due to fly home from Portugal tomorrow after working to prepare for the upcoming season at their summer training headquarters.
And O’Neill said he is pleased with the way his side are preparing for the rigors of testing at home and abroad, with the competition set to get underway on Monday, August 3, when Dundee visit Parkhead for the Premier League kick-off.
CALM BEFORE THE STORM… a relaxed Martin O’Neill at the champions’ training headquarters in Portugal. Image courtesy of Celtic player.
The Hoops boss has two more friendlies – against Middlesbrough on Saturday and AC Milan next weekend, both in east Glasgow – before the hunt for a sixth title in a row begins.
Reflecting on a job well done, O’Neill said: “The players worked hard, the weather was fantastic and it really couldn’t have been better.
“The players did really well. We’ve got one session left now, but the double sessions have been great and hopefully that will stand them in good stead this season.”
“There are things we can definitely improve on and there are things we also did well last season. So it’s a matter of combining both.”
Celtic will, of course, be without Kieron Tierney, Anthony Ralston, Alistair Johnston, Daizen Maeda, Benjamin Nygren, Yang Hyun-jun, Auston Trusty and Sebastian Tunkecti after their international spells in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Ahead of the game against Sporting, who finished second behind Porto in the Premier League and will play in the Champions League next season, O’Neill, speaking to the Celtic Player, continued: “They are a bit like us in that they are also missing a lot of World Cup players.
FALSE START… new Bhoy Camilo Duran could miss today’s game against Sporting Lisbon. Image courtesy of Celtic player.
“But they are a very good team and if this game became a European match, maybe in a couple of months, that would be amazing.
“They have players they want to bring into the squad who are a bit like us, so from that point of view it could be interesting.
“But we’ll pick a pretty strong team to start with.”
Another player missing tonight could be new £5.5m Bhoy Camilo Duran, who was unable to take part in training yesterday.
The Colombian striker, who sealed his move from Qarabag last week, felt unwell before training and did not feature in the game, casting doubt on his availability for final training against Sporting.
O’Neill added: “As we get closer to the season and look to add a few more players to the team, the intensity seems to be getting stronger and that’s how it should be.”