Season 2019-20 started last night in Austria on a warm summers evening with a 6-1 win over Pinkafeld, who seemed to enjoy themselves nonetheless.<\/p>\n
Three of Celtics goals came in the last five minutes, happily coinciding with many peoples streams giving up the ghost a few minutes earlier, but in truth, the score didn’t matter.<\/p>\n
It was simply the first day back at work. Even if it was an unfamiliar line up that took to the field.<\/p>\n
Hazard, Ralston, Simunovic, Welsh, Hayes, Coffey, Christie, Oko-Flex, Miller, Griffiths, Sinclair.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Pinkafeld did open the scoring, and they seemed happy enough with that, but not as happy as Leigh Griffiths, who opened his account for the new season shortly after.<\/p>\n Whether or not he continues to make deposits is down to him, but if he’s back to his old self, then we can all breathe a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n Two goal Mikey Johnston was the stand out, and perhaps there’s room for him as a number ten further down the line as he continues to develop, and Jack Aitchison reminded us that he’s still around as well.<\/p>\n SC PINKAFELD\u2026 1 CELTIC\u2026 6 It’s important not to read too much into this result, after all, Pinkafeld are a fourth division team from one of Europes weaker leagues, but the value of the bonding exercise, and the time spent together for the players away from the nonsense of the domestic tittle tattle can only do them good.<\/p>\n As for Griffiths, lets hope he’s switched back on and focused again.<\/p>\n He sounds like he is..<\/p>\n \u201cIt is great to be back. I have been waiting for this for almost six months now. It is great to be pulling on a shirt and getting minutes under my belt.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPre-season is all about getting that sharpness back. I have been training very hard for the last three or four months, but there is nothing like stepping out onto a pitch and playing a game.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt has been very tough \u2013 mentally and physically.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut it is not just about me.\u00a0It is about the guys who were there all season, working hard and we won the treble again.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe need to look forward now and make sure we qualify for the Champions League and win another treble.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere is always going to be pressure at a club like this, but we have handled that for the last three years now, winning nine trophies on the bounce and we want to make that 12.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Manager Lennon has spoken out about the possible move to Arsenal for Keiran Tierney..<\/p>\n “Arsenal are aware of what we value the player at,” <\/em><\/p>\n “He\u2019s on a long-term contract, he\u2019s an asset and we don\u2019t want to sell him.<\/em><\/p>\n “It\u2019s going to have to take a lot more than what they\u2019ve offered the first time around to give us a decision to make.<\/em><\/p>\n “I\u2019ve had a chat with him as it can be a difficult decision and bit unsettling. I\u2019ve been there myself so it\u2019s important that we support him regardless of the outcome.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Now then, what he really means is that we are going to keep him until someone matches what we think he’s worth. Then we’ll put it to the player.<\/p>\n Tierney’s recent operation means that Arsenal -and hopefully other clubs as well-are reluctant to match Celtic’s price as they are unsure of how he will recover from the injuries that plagued him last season.<\/p>\n Celtic are happy enough to keep him, however, which means the club thinks he’s fit enough to warrant a gamble.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Christophe Julien is on the verge of joining the club, a mere six months after he was first mentioned by the unreliable ranch hands who feed not only the horses but the Etims website.<\/p>\n France Football, usually a tad more reliable than the Traynor fed lapdogs in Scotland, said;<\/p>\n Both clubs reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of the central defender.\u00a0The amount of the transaction is estimated at 8 million euros.<\/em><\/p>\n He is expected to fly to Austria, probably on a plane, to sign a contract worth around \u00a325,000 a week, with bonuses on top.<\/p>\n All contracts have bonuses, but i thought it worth mentioning as it makes Celtic look confident of earning some bonus money, to counter the doom and gloom in the media.<\/p>\n When I thanked them for the early heads up, they did remind me that they knew Benitez was leaving Newcastle, which he has, and that Lennon would get the full time Celtic gig.<\/p>\n Surely enough to put us into contention for a European place in that league table we showed the other day.<\/p>\n But don’t worry, we’ve filled our quota now, and will return to made up pish as soon as we can think of something.<\/p>\n Over on twitter, Talking Town, Huddersfield Town , that is, claim;<\/p>\n
\n(Pahr 29)<\/em><\/p>\n
\n(Griffiths 36, Johnston 46 & 90, Henderson 53, Oko-Flex 86, Aitchison 88)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n