Two wins from two for Scotland against Croatia and Poland was great to see but in truth I’m also pretty pleased that the conclusion of the latest international break now signals a full-on return to Celtic action.
We won’t see more international football until the middle of March next year, and between now and then Brendan Rodgers and his side face what he calls an “absolute ultramarathon” of fixtures in no less than four competitions in the weeks and months ahead.
In the shorter term we have 10 games remaining in the calendar year and all of them will prove challenging in their own way.
It kicks off this Saturday with a rare night-time fixture against Hearts at Tynecastle – a place where we lost 2-0 on our last visit – and despite their lowly league position it is never an easy place to travel to.
With our latest Champions League tie against Club Brugge just a few days later the manager will have calls to make as he looks to keep the squad at peak performance levels in the coming weeks.
It presents an ideal opportunity for fringe players like Luke McCowan and Adam Idah to stake a claim for more minutes, while Luis Palma and Yang Hyun-jun might view it as something of a last chance saloon as they try to convince Rodgers they have a future in Glasgow.
And for others like Nicolas Kuhn and Callum McGregor – two players at the top of their game – the hope is the break has kept them fresh and firing for what lies ahead.
League and Champions League fixtures dominate between now and mid-December, before we then return to Hampden for an eagerly anticipated League Cup final with Rangers – but we’ll get to all that in due course.
There’s plenty to look forward to in the meantime for players and fans alike.
This run of 10 will go a long way to determining just how successful a campaign it will be. Let the games begin.
Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange
