Celtic boss Martin O'Neill is expecting a tough start to the season as his men prepare to kick off their Premiership title defence. The Bhoys had a slow start to last season that left them requiring a comeback in the title race, but they ultimately got the job done.
O'Neill came in during last season and saved the day, but it's now time to see what he can do from the start, at least in this generation, given his previous exploits at the club.
The summer transfer business has not gone particularly well, even if the Bhoys have now managed to spend around ÂŁ16million on two new strikers. There is plenty of work to do, and fans aren't best pleased with how the summer recruitment has gone.
But the Hoops are attempting to play catch-up, and we are likely to see plenty of business at Parkhead over the coming weeks. In the meantime, Celtic must kick off the season with what they have, and that includes some of the players who haven't yet left, like Arne Engels and Reo Hatate.
Dundee are the opening night opponents, albeit Celtic's start to the season will come three days after the actual league opener on Friday night. Dundee finished in the bottom half last season but managed to get second out of the bottom half split, racking up just three points less than their rivals United.
O'Neill warns of Dundee threat
Speaking about Celtic's first rivals of the season during his pre-match press conference on Friday, O'Neill said: "I’m just about looking forward to it (the season ahead). The same buzz, the same excitement, the same fears, the same everything.
“Dundee caused us all sorts of problems last year. Certainly in the time that I’ve been here, they’ve been really difficult games.
“And we were 30 seconds away from them knocking us out the Scottish Cup. They played brilliantly and of course we won that game in extra time. They were tough games and I expect the same again.”
Celtic looked pretty good during their final pre-season friendly with AC Milan, and in truth, they should be confident of getting through Dundee at home, especially with all the first game excitement.
The true test may come when there is serious change to the squad, which should have started weeks ago, but it now looks as though it will take place during the opening weeks of the season, providing little adjustment time.
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