ANGE POSTECOGLOU has revealed Celtic will play bounce games as part of their preparation for their upcoming Champions League schedule.
The Hoops will soon be playing three-games per-week come September when the group stages of the competition get underway.
Celtic's squad is of course designed to cope with the demands of such a demanding schedule.
At the minute, Celtic are playing at the weekends only, with their guaranteed spot in the groups meaning they don't need to play in the qualifiers.
And to help prepare for the additional games, Postecoglou says bounce games have been organised to keep his players ticking over.
In a sit down with Celtic TV, the Aussie was asked about the club's start to the season.
And that's when he lifted the lid on the extra midweek games.
He said: "It's been ok, it's been solid, it was always going to be a different start for us after the pre-season we've had, we are obviously so used to playing three games a week but having a game on the weekend means our training model is different, we are still almost going through an extended pre-season with the work we're doing with the players. That's going to help us once the games do start.
"Our performances right through pre-season were solid and that's continued into the first two games. The first game I thought there was some good stuff, I thought there was some stuff we could have done better but there was progression in the second game, the way we controlled it, it's been a decent start.
"It's like anything, it's beneficial if we use it right, otherwise it's a waste, for us we have been planning this for a quite well. It gives an opportunity, once the games start we know are not going to get a lot of time to do it, now is the time to bed it down. We have a couple of bounce games organised for the guys who haven't played, so when we need to throw them in we're match ready. You've seen in the first two games, we have had injuries and illnesses, I want to put them in knowing they are ready."
The Hoops face Kilmarnock in their next domestic match on Sunday.
It will be the first time that Postecoglou has faced off against the Ayrshire outfit, with Killie in the Championship last term.
On the game, he added: "Every week a different challenge and this will be a different one, they got promoted last year, Derek did a good job with them, they'll be looking forward to these fixtures, seeing whether they can disrupt us, stop us, playing at their venue is another challenge, an artificial surface, it affects our game, certainly.
"As I said last week, whatever the challenge is, the answer lies within our football, as long as we concentrate on playing in our brand of football, and believing it, we will be hard to stop."
