Tommy McIntyre said Celtic’s SPFL Trust Trophy opponents Annan Athletic will be a great challenge for his young players and exactly the kind of opportunity that will aid their development.

The Celtic B team were been drawn against Annan Athletic in the first round of the revamped SPFL Trust Trophy this afternoon (Tuesday).

The Hoops were included in this afternoon’s first and second-round draws for the competition formerly known as the Challenge Cup.

Tommy McIntyre’s side were drawn at home to Annan Athletic and will face the League Two side on the weekend of August 10th and 11th with confirmation for the exact date still to be confirmed.

Annan Athletic are familiar opponents for the young Celts, and the recent history between the two sides has convinced Tommy McIntyre that the Celtic B team will need to be at their best if they are to progress in the competition.

“There’s a wee bit of déjà vu there,” said Tommy McIntyre in an exclusive interview with the official Celtic website immediately following the draw. “We’ve drawn Annan Athletic three times in the last four years. We played them at Morton’s ground the first time and beat them but we drew them the following year and they deserved their victory.

“To get them now is going to be a tough game. They have the same manager and a lot of players who have been there, gone away and come back again. It’ll be a tough game but I think looking at all the games we knew there were going to be some tough games so that’s what we expected.

“It’s about the players taking on the challenge because it’ll be a challenge. They’ll be well organised but there’s a little bonus for us in that it’s a home tie. I don’t think they’ll be much in the game and it’ll be about how we handle the physicality side of things.

'They have good experience in their team with players who have Premier League experience, but if we want to develop young players and put them into that environment it’s a great opportunity for them.'

The Celtic B team will have plenty of games under their belt before then with their inaugural season in the Lowland League kicking off on Saturday, July 17^th.

The young Hoops take on BonnyRiggRose Athletic in their first fixture of the league season and will have played a further five games by the time they begin their SPFL Trust Trophy campaign.

Tommy McIntyre said playing in the league would be a huge benefit for his young players' development path towards the first-team.

“The whole idea of playing in the Lowland League is to help them move closer to playing with the first team,” he said. “They’ll have loads of games against tough opposition. It’ll be a great experience for them playing in front of crowds on a Saturday afternoon or on a Wednesday night.

“It’s another piece of the jigsaw. To develop, these players need to play games and this will be a vehicle for them to do that so it’s a great opportunity for our young players.”

The winner of Celtic B and Annan Athletic will be at home to Greenock Morton in the second round which will take place on the weekend of September 4^th and 5^th.

Tommy McIntyre: SPFL Trust Trophy is the kind of challenge young Hoops will thrive off