Two wins from two for Scotland in opposition to Croatia and Poland was nice to see however in fact I am additionally fairly happy that the conclusion of the most recent worldwide break now alerts a full-on return to Celtic motion.
We can’t see extra worldwide soccer till the center of March subsequent yr, and between at times Brendan Rodgers and his facet face what he calls an “absolute ultramarathon” of fixtures in at least 4 competitions within the weeks and months forward.
Within the shorter time period we have now 10 video games remaining within the calendar yr and all of them will show difficult in their very own means.
It kicks off this Saturday with a uncommon night-time fixture in opposition to Hearts at Tynecastle – a spot the place we misplaced 2-0 on our final go to – and regardless of their lowly league place it’s by no means a straightforward place to journey to.
With our newest Champions League tie in opposition to Membership Brugge only a few days later the supervisor could have calls to make as he seems to be to maintain the squad at peak efficiency ranges within the coming weeks.
It presents a super alternative for fringe gamers like Luke McCowan and Adam Idah to stake a declare for extra minutes, whereas Luis Palma and Yang Hyun-jun would possibly view it as one thing of a final probability saloon as they attempt to persuade Rodgers they’ve a future in Glasgow.
And for others like Nicolas Kuhn and Callum McGregor – two gamers on the high of their recreation – the hope is the break has stored them contemporary and firing for what lies forward.
League and Champions League fixtures dominate between now and mid-December, earlier than we then return to Hampden for an eagerly anticipated League Cup ultimate with Rangers – however we’ll get to all that in the end.
There’s loads to stay up for within the meantime for gamers and followers alike.
This run of 10 will go a protracted strategy to figuring out simply how profitable a marketing campaign it will likely be. Let the video games start.