Celtic FC B coach Stephen McManus was delighted to see his young squad get off the mark, as they sealed their first victory of the new campaign on Tuesday evening.

The Bhoys ran out 5-1 winners over Caledonian Braves in their first outing at the Excelsior Stadium this season, with goals coming from Bruno Davidson, Ben Quinn and Lewis Dobbie.

After putting in the hard yards during pre-season, it appears to be paying off as the Celts put in a positive display in Airdrie.

Speaking to Celtic TV after the match, Stephen McManus was left pleased with his side’s performance as whole.

He said: “The boys have been improving all the time. It’s a younger squad than what we had last campaign, so it’s taken a wee bit of time for the boys to get up to speed.

“Their efforts have been terrific in training, but like I say, we always look at the performance first and foremost.

“Tonight, what is probably the most pleasing thing, is that has been our best performance throughout pre-season and after the game on Saturday.

‘So it’s a step in the right direction, we have still got lots of work to do collectively as a group.’

“But it was certainly pleasing that the boys are starting to pick up the information that we are then asking them to deliver.”

With it being such a young squad, the quick turnaround between Saturday’s loss to Cumbernauld Colts and last night’s (Tuesday) visit of Caledonian Braves could have proved to be a tricky task.

However, the Bhoys quickly dusted themselves down and put on a five-star showing to secure all three points over their opponents.

Although McManus expects his players to be inconsistent at times throughout the campaign, he was happy with their reaction to bounce back and win against the Braves.

“We have stood here before and spoken about when you work with young players, one of the first things that happens is there is going to be inconsistencies,” he said.

“For some of them, this will be the first time they will have been up with myself and Darren (O’Dea). So it’s important that they get up to speed.

‘We try and play a certain way, we have certain principles that we stick to.’

“That has probably been the first time in the games we have played so far that it has been pretty evident throughout, which is good.

“So we are really pleased for the performance from the players.”

The Celts will need to get used to that quick turnaround, with another fixture to come later this week, as they take on Cowdenbeath this Saturday.

Our next Lowland League opponents have proved tricky opposition for sides such as St Mirren and Arbroath, running them close during their recent Viaplay Cup group stage matches.

One of the most pleasing aspects for McManus ahead of that match is seeing his squad take on information that they have been working on during their time on the training ground, and he will be hoping to see that continue to be implemented this weekend.

He said: “It’s a long season, and the players will be inconsistent at times. For us, it’s about seeing them taking on information, when we are going through the individual clips and unit meetings.

“Also the post-match analysis that we will do with the players. And then can we implement that within the training.

'So we then do that, and the rewards you see is how to perform on the Saturday, or the Tuesday/Wednesday.'

“You can see that the boys have taken the information on, which is always pleasing. So we are delighted for them tonight.”

Stephen McManus: The boys are continuing to improve all the time