EVEN ahead of the Premiership curtain-raiser this Saturday, Celtic’s season is already up and running, with four European matches safely tackled and won.

Now, before they return to the Champions League qualifiers with a double-header against Romanian side, CFR Cluj, the Hoops face St Johnstone, aiming to get the defence of their title off to a winning start.

Their opponents this Saturday have had a less than impressive start to their season, losing three of their four League Cup group section fixtures against Montrose, Ross County and Forfar Athletic, and failing to progress to the last 16 of the tournament.

However, as Scott Brown looked ahead to the game at Celtic Park, he acknowledged that Tommy Wright’s team have traditionally proven to be tough opponents.

“There’s always pressure on us,” the Hoops skipper said, “no matter who we play, and whether that’s in cup competitions or league games, but we thrive on it.

“People expect us to win, but we need to go out there and prove we’re the best in the league. We’ve done that over the last eight seasons and we’ll aim to do it again.

“St Johnstone have always been a hard team to break down and they’re always very well-organised with Tommy Wright. He puts that into good use especially when they come to Celtic Park, so we’ll have to be on our game and continue our pressing game.”

The Celtic squad has been boosted by a number of new faces over the course of the summer, the latest being Hatem Abd Elhamed, who arrived last week from Israeli side, Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

The new arrivals inevitably mean that competition for places in the starting XI increases, but it's something that the players already at the club thrive on.

“The squad’s shaping up really well,” said Brown. “We’ve had a few people coming back from injuries so everyone’s looking good and looking sharp, and we’ve shown in our games so far that we’ve started really well.

“There’s been a lot of comings and goings as there always is in football these days, but we’re looking forward to starting this season with the new faces that have come in. It’s good to see new lads come in and it’s good to see them working hard. They’re starting to understand what the Scottish game is about and what the Celtic fans expect of them.”

And hot on the heels of the St Johnstone game comes the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying tie, with the Hoops taking on CFR Cluj in Romania on Wednesday night.

“It’s going to be a huge step up for us,” the Celtic captain acknowledged, “but going away for the first match is certainly going to help us.

“You never know what can happen in European games, but we’ll understand how they’ll play and be ready for the test.”

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