Why Celtic are getting closer to making summer signings

What were your thoughts on last season at the club?

There are always challenges, and I think that last season was a challenging season but I think the way we finished was really strong and it was nice to get over the line. You always take pride in winning trophies here.

At a club like this, how long do you get to savour what you’ve done before you start to think of how to retain it? 

Not very long. At the time, I think with Trophy Day you saw it, and with the cup final you see the fans coming to the stadium and coming together - that’s very special. Over the summer, you can look back on the season and enjoy that. We can be champions, but we know the work starts from today onwards in terms of preparing us for the new season and being ready for it again.

What’s the one thing that as a group you’re keen to improve on from the last campaign? You must have discussed areas where the team can get better.

I think last year we probably lacked a little bit of consistency. There were times when we didn’t hit the performance levels we knew that we were capable of, and we saw that at the end of the season. I think we missed a few key players at different points last season, so pre-season is important for that phase of it and making sure the players are robust and strong going into the season. We know that when we’ve got a fully fit squad playing the best we can we know we’re a hard team to stop. It is all about standards and making sure we’re improving different parts of our game. We’re looking to improve over pre-season but it’s all about continuing to step forward and gaining an advantage in any area, and we’ll look to do that.

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Is a better start to the campaign something that you’ll need to try and do, in terms of getting a rhythm into your play? 

I think it helps. It’s not always as simple as that as there are factors that can impact that. Certainly, when you get off to a good start it builds confidence and momentum and you want to get that as early as possible. Pre-season is important for that and it gives you the building blocks and the foundations. When you make a good start, the mood and morale goes up and you can step forward from there. It’s a long season, and we saw that last season that nothing is won early but you want to start as well as you can. We’ll do our best to prepare the players and the team for the pre-season and hopefully against Kilmarnock on day one we’re ready to go.

On a personal note, last summer you could have left to go and join Ange Postecoglou in England at Spurs but you decided to stay. During the campaign when there were bumps in the road, did you ever think you made the wrong choice?

No, never. I never looked at anything that way. In terms of when things are done and dusted and the decision’s made, then you fully commit to it. I’ve had a long time here with lots of success, working here with terrific people and it’s a great club to work for. I’ve never had any regrets in that, and I think when you see the scenes at the end of the season then you see how special the club is. When you come back to Celtic Park after the cup final and the fans are there and the reception the trophies and players get, then it’s second to none.

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Assistant John Kennedy speaks to Sky Sports News as the champions prepare to kick-off their season live on Sky Sports ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/R1PdeU6RWz

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) June 27, 2024

Joe Hart signed off in that cup final. What are the chances of getting a new goalkeeper in place for the first of those pre-season games?

The club are working hard on that. Obviously, some targets have been identified and they've been working on that in the background. Again, it's a key position for us and we know that it's a position that we need to get in and we want to do that as soon as we can, so hopefully in the coming weeks, we can have some news on that. 

You can't afford to not be without a first-choice goalkeeper, especially when you fly out to America for the bulk of pre-season. It is a real priority, I would imagine.

I think there are some challenges with that in terms of negotiations that will take place, but we know it's a key position for us and we want to get the key positions in as quickly as we can so that we can get to work with them. The manager, the board and the guys at the club are working hard on that. 

How much have you guys done in terms of retaining Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah - guys who were here on loan last season? The manager has spoken about Idah.

Again, I think there are a lot of conversations happening. It's a time when a lot of players have been on holiday and different things have been happening. A lot of conversations are taking place and as we now come back for pre-season, hopefully in the coming weeks a few things will start to happen, but there are a lot of plates spinning, a lot of work getting done and hopefully we'll start to see all that start to materialise in the coming weeks. 

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The biggest aim is to retain the Scottish Premiership trophy, but is there a burning desire to make more of a fist of it in Europe, perhaps more in results than performances?

First and foremost it's about [the league] and winning that. That's our bread and butter and we want to do well domestically. But I think there's always a challenge with the European stuff. We've probably gone too long a period where we haven't impacted Europe as much as we want. We've seen glimpses of it, even last year and the year before, performance-wise we know we're capable of going in and competing with these teams, and putting in good performances. But it's about turning the screw on that and starting to get results. The different format will give us extra games this year, and there will be more challenges, but it's exciting and we want to face that head-on and hopefully, we can make some sort of impact in that. 

What makes the difference in Europe?  A lot of people say it's about recruitment and spending money and the type of player you bring in, or is it more than that?

You want to get the best standard of player that you can get to allow you to challenge and perform at that level. And then it's about, in those games, the fine lines. We saw against Lazio at home where you go from having a goal chopped off for being just offside, to them going up the other end and getting the goal. So there's impacting the game itself, in terms of performances, there's reaching the level, and then there's having that mentality to get it over the line and get results. And then it's about having the strongest squad you can in order to compete at that level. Certainly in Europe, the teams are getting stronger, so you want to continue that with your own squad. 

You touched on the new format of the Champions League. Have you looked at how that may impact on the domestic schedule and how you juggle that?

I don't think it'll change too much because the extension taking [the UCL] into January carries a couple of games over beyond Christmas. The challenge will still be there, the first half of the season is always a busy period, especially with the League Cup starting early and Europe coming in pretty quickly. There's always a challenge and we know we need to have a good group of players, a strong group of players to get us through that – which we've had in the past. So, again, it's just making sure we get the mix right of not being too bloated but getting a good, quality group of players who're capable of playing domestically and in Europe week-to-week. Again, we've got a lot of experience in the squad – this won't phase them. And then it's about getting the new guys up to speed and getting used to that level as well.