It was a disappointing afternoon for the Celtic FC B squad as the Bhoys lost out 2-1 to Berwick Rangers, conceding a second goal in stoppage time.

Speaking after the game, coach Stephen McManus said: “The first-half was good, we knocked the ball about well and we got into some really good areas. We looked dangerous when we got into those areas.

“We created some decent chances as well, so we were pretty pleased with the opening 45 minutes.

“But then in the second half we seemed to stop passing the ball, we made mistakes and stopped getting into those dangerous areas.

“You could almost just sense that they were going to score at the end from a set play and that’s what happened.

'So the first half was really positive, and the second was really poor by our standards.'

“Again, we are just trying to get works for us on the pitch, but you can see when we stop passing the ball, there isn’t any fluency or cohesion in the second half."

Although it wasn’t the result the Bhoys would have wanted, these are the sort of lessons McManus wants his squad to learn as they aim to continue their development as Celtic players.

“That is the benefit of having this games programmes,” he said. “There are so many different challenges for the boys.

“In this league, you face so many different teams and styles. So it is good for the boys to learn in games like these.

“It’s all about our boys coming away from home to tough venues like this, and trying to implement our style of play on the game.

'We saw moments of that with some of our play in the first half, which was positive.'

“But it’s all about trying to sustain that for the entire game, and we didn’t do that. So we will go away, analyse the game and learn from these moments.”

There won’t be much time for the young Hoops to dwell on the result in Berwick, with the Lowland League continuing this midweek.

The Celts face another away trip, this time taking on East Kilbride at K Park on Tuesday (August 22) as they aim to bounce back from two away defeats.

He said: “The games come thick and fast, and that is a good thing for this group of boys.

"We have got a very young group, and there is a lot of talented players in that dressing room. So it’s important for them to have these games.

“We have already faced East Kilbride, and we will be doing so again on Tuesday night. So we're looking ahead to that game now and we will be ready for another good test.”

Stephen McManus: It is important we sustain the level of performance throughout