Just like that, the football's back.

After 51 days of no Celtic first-team matches, the Hoops opened up their 2022-23 pre-season campaign with a sound 7-0 scudding of Austrian third-tier side SC Wiener Viktoria.

Given the level of opposition, the fact there were six different goalscorers in the 90 minutes isn't as impressive as it otherwise might have been.

But still - 19 players were used throughout the game and it must be said nobody actively did their case of further game-time any harm.

And there will be plenty of it to be had when the competitive games kick off in earnest against Aberdeen on July 31.

In the space of 105 days - from then until November 12 when the league breaks for the World Cup - Celtic will play 23 matches across the Premiership, League Cup and Champions League group stage. That will increase to 24 if, as expected, they progress to the next round in their defence of the League Cup.

A game every four days might prompt statements along the lines of 'ach, Celtic always have a busy schedule'. That's true - they do. It's part and parcel of being so consistently successful. Nonetheless, it is still going to be a considerable undertaking and is precisely why there needs to be a serious element of squad depth to manage it.

Quality over quantity is the mantra when it comes to Celtic's recruitment this summer yet the squad is still somewhat bloated.

Several players are expected to depart before the window closes but the looming schedule still necessitates a certain number of bodies Ange Postecoglou must be able to call upon. Load management is a term you should get used to hearing in the years to come.

Postecoglou understands this. He makes no bones about it, actually.

“It’s a big squad, and we’re going to need a big squad,” he said after the 7-0 win. "We’ll probably play 60 games this year and with the World Cup break it’s going to be a pretty congested schedule on either side of it so we’re going to need a strong squad."

Celtic Way:

It should be noted that the bulk of Celtic's international players were held in reserve for the win over Wiener Viktoria as a means of extending their break from action a bit longer. They played their part, though, by encouraging those who were on the pitch – like new signing Alexandro Bernabei - vociferously from the sidelines.

The side that started contained experienced first-teamers like Joe Hart and James Forrest but also young upstarts like 19-year-olds Bosun Lawal and Johnny Kenny. Both made an impact, with the latter scoring twice while bringing plenty of intensity to the frontline and the former cutting an imposing, if unpolished, figure at the back.

Later, 17-year-old Rocco Vata displayed the poise of a much older player when scoring the seventh while Owen Moffat (20), Matthew Anderson (18) and Ben Summers (18) all gave off the attitude of players not there to make up the numbers. The controlled aggression in 16-year-old Josh Dede's cameo was surely noted too.

The caveat to all of this is that the gap in quality between the sides was as wide as the Clyde but, nonetheless, you want to see certain things from players during pre-season regardless of opposition.

You want to see behaviours and idiosyncrasies that suggest players are absorbing what they're being taught. It's arguably the most interesting subplot of the tour.

See, for example, Lawal's insistence on taking a quick throw-in rather than allowing Bernabei to run the extra few yards to take it himself, or Vata trying a killer pass even though the first one didn't come off. These things are very much noticed.

Yes, pre-season these days is about making sure you're up to speed fitness-wise and increasing match sharpness ahead of the new campaign… but only for some.

For others, it's about playing and training your way into Postecoglou's thoughts for at least the first half of the season ahead.

There will be a few who fancy they’ve taken a very important first step towards doing just that this week.

This piece is an extract from today’s Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out at 4pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team. 

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