Celtic FC B coach Darren O’Dea is hopeful that a week on the training ground will help the young Hoops continue to improve after a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Civil Service Strollers.

The Bhoys travelled to the capital this afternoon (Saturday) following an emphatic 5-0 victory at home against Gala Fairydean Rovers last week.

However, they couldn’t follow that result up with another victory after slipping to defeat at Christie Gilles Park.

Speaking after the match, O’Dea reflected on the overall performance, admitting that his side weren’t good enough on the day

He said: “The pitch was a bit sticky, but I don’t even want to try and come up with an excuse – we were poor.

“We looked really lethargic in possession of the ball. We actually didn’t have any real threat against us, yet managed to somehow concede three goals.

“If I’m being brutally honest, it’s not a game I’m going to look forward to watching back. It was just littered with technical errors, but we will all look at it, see where we can get better.”

It has been a busy start to the campaign for the young Hoops, playing in Lowland League and SPFL Trust Trophy matches over the past few weeks.

Although there have been positive moments, the Celts haven’t been able to gain any momentum going from game-to-game.

That is something that O’Dea is hoping will come with time, as the young Celtic squad continue to adjust to regular football.

With seven days until the next game against Berwick Rangers, the Irishman is also hoping some time to reflect and work hard will help the Bhoys improve ahead of their trip to the borders.

“It’s a really young group of players, so you are going to get ups and down,” he said. “They have experienced a couple of really good performances recently at home, where the conditions are in favour of us.

“Now when you come away from home, you need to be able to handle that. The conditions sometimes aren’t perfect.

“Today, the pitch is a wee bit sticky but it will be ten times worse the later in the year we go and when the weather gets bad.

“So that is when you need a bit more grit and being able to see out certain things.

“Next weekend’s match will be another tough test, and we will hopefully be better because we will have had a week to reflect and train hard.”

Darren O’Dea: Our aim is to reflect and come back stronger against Berwick