Martin O'Neill believes Celtic are as well equipped as they possibly can be for this evening's 5.30pm meeting with Sporting Club of Lisbon at the Estadio Algarve, with the final stages of pre-season now coming into view. It is another useful checkpoint in Portugal, and one that should say plenty about where the squad stands before competitive football begins next week.
The Celtic boss has been encouraged by the work done in camp, even with a number of players absent on international duty in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Celtic are due to play two more friendlies after this one — against Middlesbrough on Saturday and AC Milan in Glasgow the following weekend — before Dundee visit Parkhead on Monday August 3 for the Premiership kick-off.
Last week, Celtic also added Camilo Duran from Qarabag, which has only added to the sense that the squad is still being shaped while the first serious fixtures edge closer. But for O'Neill, the immediate priority is the match in Portugal and the standard of the work done to get there.
O'Neill: the work has been strong
O'Neill was clear that the camp has given him what he wanted. “The players have worked hard, the weather has been fantastic and it really, genuinely couldn’t have been better,” he said. That is exactly the kind of message a manager wants to be able to give at this stage of a summer schedule.
He also pointed to the rhythm of the sessions as a positive. “The players have done really well. We’re down to one session now, but the double sessions have been great and, hopefully, it’ll stand them in good stead for the season,” he said. In other words, the focus has been on building the physical base that will matter when the fixtures start to tighten.
A strong opponent, even in pre-season
Sporting Club of Lisbon are not being treated like routine opposition. O'Neill noted that they are missing several players too, but still described them as a very fine side and a club with Champions League-level quality. He also suggested the game would feel even bigger if it came later in the season, saying it would be amazing as a European fixture in a couple of months’ time.
That gives the match real value for Celtic. It is not just another pre-season run-out. It is a chance to measure intensity, structure and sharpness against a side with a proper competitive edge, even if both teams are working around absentees.
The shape of Celtic's run-in
O'Neill said Celtic will “go with a pretty strong side to begin with”, which underlines how seriously this evening's fixture is being taken. With the season drawing closer, he also spoke about the possibility of adding a few extra players to the squad, while stressing that the intensity around the group naturally rises at this stage.
That is the key point from Celtic's Portugal camp. These final friendlies are not simply about getting minutes into legs. They are about building momentum, tightening standards and making sure the squad is ready for the demands that begin at Parkhead on Monday August 3.
For Celtic, the question now is whether this summer work translates smoothly into the start of the campaign. O'Neill clearly thinks the signs are positive. The coming matches against Middlesbrough and AC Milan will offer further clues, but tonight's 5.30pm kick-off against Sporting Club of Lisbon is the first big test left in the schedule.
