Celtic B team coach, Darren O’Dea feels this weekend’s fixture against top of the Lowland League table Bonnyrigg Rose is a bit like coming back to the start.

Bonnyrigg were the first team the young Celtic side played this season, losing 2-1 to the Midlothian outfit on the opening day of the term in their first ever senior league outing.

It was the first time the development squad had experienced this sort of competitive football and O’Dea admitted it was an unknown test for the youngsters.

However, now with 26 league matches under their belt the coach knows they’ve come a long way since then and everyone is really looking forward to Saturday’s 1pm kick-off at the Penny Cars Stadium.

The Irishman said: “We all didn’t know what to expect and I think the feeling at the end of the match, there was an enjoyment off the pitch. We definitely found it a real challenge against Bonnyrigg.

“With the experience they’ve gained and the understanding that they’ve gained there’s a little bit within the group that wants to show that we’ve come a long way in a short enough period of time.”

Celtic B’s attacking threat has been noted in their past few matches with big scorelines and a growing selection of players’ names on the scoresheet, including Adam Brooks who earned himself a hat-trick last week in their 6-0 win over Edinburgh University and has assisted many a goal this season too.

The former Celtic defender said as much as the focus for the forward players is to create chances, the thing they’ve improved on and will continue to improve on is the other side of it – being the first line of defence.

O’Dea added: “The front players I can relate to the first team because that’s where we’re trying to align into.

“Their attacking talent and flair is pivotal to the team but they’re also ideally our best defenders on the pitch as well, in terms of how they control the game, press the game and don’t let opposition players like Bonnyrigg lift their heads and play.

“Adam is one at the minute that’s in really good form, he’s scoring goals, he’s created a lot of goals, he’s trained particularly well. But he’s also developing the other side to his game.

‘And for Adam, someone like Kyogo is who he should be watching all the time. As much as Kyogo is known for how sensational he is in possession, he’s as good out of possession’.

“That’s the message with our front players, there’s two sides to the coin, which they have done particularly well with and they’re going to need to do that on Saturday.”

With the departure of defender Brody Paterson (below) on loan to Airdrie as they fight for promotion to the Scottish Championship, space at the back of the pitch has become available to another young Celtic player.

Darren O’Dea: Attacking flair pivotal to B team education and progress