Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon has urged his team-mates to be fit and ready for the start of the new season.
The Scottish club are set to begin the 2017-18 campaign looking to defend all three domestic titles, whilst also seeking a seventh successive Scottish Premiership crown.
They will also be challenging among Europe’s elite in the Champions League group-stage, provided they come through the qualifying phase this summer completely unscathed.
But with Celtic set to compete once more across several different fronts in the early part of the season, Gordon has warned his team-mates to be ready for their “most important games” of the entire season.
The 34-year-old was a regular member of the first-team squad at Parkhead during their treble-winning season last term, keeping 20 clean sheets from 35 appearances in all competitions.
He told the Evening Times: “We will try and train the best we can to cope with it and we have to be ready for the first part of the season because they are the most important games of our entire year.
“We need to make sure that we are in the right frame of mind and I am sure that the manager will ensure that we are. They are massive games because of what is at stake.
“So there isn’t too much downtime or too much time to reflect on winning the treble or the game against England. But that is football sometimes.”
Gordon’s firm message comes after a number of his Celtic team-mates were involved in last week’s international fixtures, where Scotland took on England at Hampden Park.
Scotland held England to a 2-2 draw in their World Cup qualifier courtesy of two stunning free-kicks from Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths.
The veteran stopper was also involved in the fixture, as were Hoops team-mates Kieran Tierney, Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong.
James Forrest was also part of the matchday squad but did not feature.
Celtic endured a difficult start to the season last year despite their unbeaten domestic record, losing their first game under Brendan Rodgers to European minnows Lincoln Red Imps.
Their competitive season began on July 12 due to their Champions League qualifying commitments, with the domestic campaign not scheduled to begin for another month.
However, with Celtic facing a similar fixture calendar this year, Gordon’s firm message is of the utmost importance.