The beginning of the 2025/26 campaign is almost upon us, with Brendan Rodgers and his squad gearing up for their opening league match. Welcoming St Mirren to Paradise, this Sunday will mark the start of another new season and bring to an end what has been another busy pre-season. Alongside the work done in Scotland at Lennoxtown, with trips to Ireland, Portugal and Italy, it has been a pre-season filled with plenty of hard work on the pitch for the Hoops. That work will be put into action as the league flag is unveiled, with the Celts kick-starting what they hope will be another successful season as we begin the defence of our title. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Celtic TV, Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers reflected on pre-season, praising the hard work his squad put in during training and in their friendly outings. Now though, Rodgers is very much looking forward to getting going on the competitive front. He said: “We’re very much looking forward to the competitive season getting underway. We’ve obviously had very good preparation both here at Lennoxtown and on our travels. “We played some great games, and the players are in a really good place. They have worked every so hard, and we have played some high-quality opponents. ‘But now it’s all for a purpose and a reason looking ahead to the weekend.’ “I think that all of our games in pre-season were really, really good for us. My only disappointment if I was being critical was the second half against Ajax. “But apart from that, I thought we were very good in the games. We built our fitness up from that first evening at Queen’s Park. “We worked our way through it, and we have finished in a really good place. “There has been a lot of planning and preparation that went into it, but it was a really enjoyable pre-season. “There has been a lot of hard work. We got some of our ideas across in training and now we can’t wait to get started for the competitive stuff.”Of course, it will be familiar foes to kick-off the new season for the Celts, with St Mirren the visitors to the East End of Glasgow on Sunday. Especially when you consider that the final competitive outing at Paradise of last season came against the Buddies in a 1-1 draw. Following another strong season, Stephen Robinson leads his side into the new season after booking their place in the next round of the Premier Sports Cup in July. Robinson is a manager Rodgers has faced on a fair few occasions now, and the Celtic boss praised his fellow countryman as he gears up for what will be a tough opening test. It is one which Rodgers believes will set Celtic in good stead as they look to quickly get up to full speed in competitive action. “It will be difficult,” he said. “Like we seen on the last game of the season, St Mirren make it really tough and difficult. “I have a big admiration for Stephen (Robinson). He has done a great job in the club’s he has managed up here, both Motherwell and St Mirren. “To qualify for Europe in the last three seasons, it’s a great effort by him, his staff and his players. “His teams are always well organised. But for us, this is our first game at home, and we really want to lay a marker down in terms of how we want to perform this season. ‘This is a great way for us to hopefully start with.’ “I think that’s it; it’s competition. Competition brings that intensity, both from the players and from the supporters. “The season starts on Sunday, and we are really looking forward to it. We want to put on a performance, get the points and move on to the next game.” Watch the full exclusive interview over on Celtic TV. Subscribe to Celtic TVFixturesCeltic Vs. St. Mirren – Sun, Aug 3rd 2025, 16:30
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