The young Celts’ journey in the Premier League International Cup came to an end at The County Ground in Leyland last night (February 1).

Darren O’Dea and Stephen McManus’ squad came up against a tough Blackburn Rovers side, suffering a 3-1 defeat after a hard-fought 90 minutes.

Mackenzie Carse netted the late consolation for the Hoops as they bowed out of the competition. However, B team coach, O’Dea reflected positively on the experience: “I was really pleased with the overall challenge of the game.

'We were delighted with the composure of the boys and the way they stuck to the task - it was a proper test.'

“They had a number of first-team players in their side, which for our players who are trying to make their way into first-team football, it was a brilliant test.

McManus and O’Dea have previously spoken on the challenges of replicating environments similar to that of the first team, and last night’s trip to Leyland proved to serve as just that.

O'Dea said: “It was probably the most content myself and Stephen have been on the touchline because if we liken it to a first-team game, that was probably as close to that as we’ve had this year.

“There was a good crowd, great atmosphere and a number of Celtic fans that travelled down which is massively appreciated.

“As a coach, part of our job is to find the right environments and experiences for them to learn in and last night was the perfect environment.

“It was a really tough physical game with loads of quality on show and our players stood up to it brilliantly.

“There were stand out performances but Ben Summers was arguably the best player on the pitch.

“Albeit the result wasn’t what we wanted, the understanding that the players are going in the right direction was verified after the game.

“The contentment we had afterwards was fantastic and the boys will take a lot of confidence from it because they knew they were coming up against very good players.”

Reflecting on the competition as a whole, O’Dea is delighted with the learning that the group can take forward with them in their development.

He added: “The Premier League International Cup was a wonderful experience for the players and the staff. We have been treated fantastically everywhere we’ve gone.

“The quality of game and opposition really gave us a great understanding of where our players are at and what they struggled with.

“There is great privilege in being the only Scottish team to participate, so we were delighted to be involved and we have real hopes that we can continue to be part of it going forward.”

Line-ups

Blackburn Rovers: Hilton, Saadi (Montgomery 83), Gamble, Phillips, Edun (Gilsenan 70), O’Grady-Macken, Garrett, Gent (Pratt 83), Thomas (Burns 70), Szmodics (Fyles 46), Leonard.

Subs: Eastham.

Celtic: Clarke, Dede, Anderson (MacKenzie 78), Lawal, Corr, Otoo, Davidson (Thomson 46 (Ure 55)), Summers, Letsosa, Carse, Quinn (Dawson 46).

Subs: Morrison, Robertson.

Darren O’Dea: Our players stood up to the test brilliantly