Celtic winger Jonny Hayes says the squad are ready to begin their Champions League qualification campaign ahead of next week’s trip to FK Sarajevo.
The Hoops head to Bosnia for the first leg of their European qualifier on Tuesday, with FK Sarajevo set to visit Parkhead the following Wednesday.
Celtic travelled to Austria and Switzerland for pre-season and Hayes is feeling the benefit ahead of their bid to secure a place in the group stages of Europe’s top competition.
“We’re still concentrating on fitness but there wasn’t as big a break this year so we didn’t lose that much,” he told the club website.
“The manager’s [Neil Lennon] still putting his imprint on the team as well and we’re working hard behind the scenes training every day.
“It’s just a case getting ready for games, pre-season is all about focusing on the first European games. We’ve been training hard so it’s been a really good trip. We’ve had a couple of good games and then most of us got 90 minutes so it’s good to get that in the bank.”
Hayes, 31, says Celtic feel well prepared for their clash with FK Sarajevo and revealed they have been focusing on their opponents since the draw was made.
He added: “The lads have done their homework for the last few weeks on the opposition so we’ll get the benefit of that before we fly out to Bosnia.”
Celtic are 501.00 to win the Champions League outright next season, while holders Liverpool are available at 7.50.
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