Celtic captain Callum McGregor says the squad is looking in good shape ahead of the Premiership return as they strive to continue their domestic dominance.
The midfielder hailed the pre-season performances, that saw them defeat DC United, Chelsea and English Premier League champions Manchester City while scoring 12 goals in the process during a tour of the US.
But he also admits that they are hoping to add more quality to the side to keep driving the standard upwards ahead of the new campaign.
Speaking at the official launch of the 2024-25 season in on Tuesday he said: “We are just back from America, the team look good, look slick and obviously three good results in terms of wins and building that winning culture at the club.
“The league season is only a few days away now so we will train well this week and get ourselves ready for Sunday.
“It’s exciting (the new Champions League format), obviously no one knows quite what to expect yet, but I’m sure it will be exciting and we’ll see what that’s like.
“The intention is always to try and do as well as we can in Europe, and try to keep a hold of the squad we have and continue to add to that as well.
“So that is something we are looking at and domestically we try to set the standard and look to win every competition we are in.
“There’s no arrogance in saying that, we want to be successful and we know how much hard graft and hard work goes into that and that starts at the weekend.
“I think the squad is good, we have some good quality and I think we’ve seen that over the last two or three years that there is a real good core there and we want to continue to build on that.
“We don’t have the same resources as some of the big guns but the club is doing its best to add some quality and that’s what we always want as players, to improve the squad and have as much competition as we possibly can because that drives up performance and drives up the standard in training as well and ultimately that is how you are successful as well.”
McGregor dismissed any notion that Celtic have gained a pre-season boost from the perception that city rivals Rangers are ill-equipped for the start of the campaign.
Philippe Clement’s side will play their first few home games, until late September at least, at Hampden due to a delay in renovation work at Ibrox.
In addition, the squad does not appear to have been adequately replenished following the departure of a string of experienced players including Jon McLaughlin, Connor Goldson, Ryan Jack, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram and Kemar Roofe.
Manager Clement admitted on Tuesday: “We know of course theirs (Celtic’s) is a small renovation with a few details and they can build on their core. We have a big rebuild.”
However, McGregor is adamant he and his colleagues are paying no attention to any issues across the city as they prepare to begin their Premiership title defence at home to Kilmarnock on Sunday.
He said: “It’s not something we’ve spoken about or looked at.
“We have our own set of problems and challenges that we have to face in order to get better as a club and as a squad of players.
“We’re too busy trying to demand the very best of each other, and what will be will be.
“We’re trying to control all the things that we can control, and push and demand as much as we can from the players. I’m sure once the season starts, everything will sort itself out but the only thing we’re focused on is ourselves.”
Celtic go into the new season buoyed by impressive friendly wins over Manchester City and Chelsea and with a relatively settled squad intact.
“I think what we’ve got is really strong but we can always add to that,” said McGregor. “We’re no different, every club in the country will be trying to do the same, trying to find the right ones to progress the squad.
“I think the squad is good. We’ve got good quality, we’ve seen that over the last two or three years. There’s a real good core. We just want to continue to build on that.
“We don’t have the resources of some of the big guns but the club are trying their best to bring us quality, and that’s what we want as players, we want to add to the squad as much as we can to drive up the performance, drive up standards in training because that’s how you’re successful.
“The players are feeling good, the squad’s looking good and the pre-season games have been really slick.
“The way we’ve played in the last two games especially against so-called big teams gives us a lot of confidence but we know that once you get into the real stuff, the competitive edge kicks in and the pre-season stuff doesn’t really matter at that point.”
Celtic will begin their defence of the Premiership title with a home match against Kilmarnock on Sunday.
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