AS Celtic jet off to Australia for their pre-season tour in July, Daniel Majstorovic must feel a sense of déjà vu.
AS Celtic jet off to Australia for their pre-season tour in July, Daniel Majstorovic must feel a sense of déjà vu.
Last summer, the big defender headed to the same country with former club AEK Athens as part of their pre-season preparations, where they faced Blackburn Rovers and Rangers in a round-robin tournament.
That was an experience the Swede thoroughly enjoyed and he is excited to be repeating it with the Hoops again, in particular, the chance to play in front of Celtic-s West Australian fans at nib Stadium on July 9.
“I was there with AEK Athens last year,” he explained, speaking exclusively to the official Celtic website. “We were in Sydney and played in a tournament against Blackburn, Rangers and Sydney.
“We were there about 10 to 14 days and it was a really great time. So, of course, I am looking forward to going again.
“There are a lot of Greek supporters so it was a really nice time and I think it will be the same experience now with Celtic. We have so many fans worldwide and, of course, we have a lot in Australia, too, so I think we will have a great time over there.
“All the fans are part of Celtic so it will be nice for us as well. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Majstorovic was one of the many arrivals at Celtic Park at the start of last season as Neil Lennon revamped his squad in time for the new campaign.
It will be a completely different scenario this time, with a settled squad bolstered by several carefully chosen recruits heading down under.
And the 34-year-old reckoned that added greater significance to the time spent in Australia ahead of the coming season.
“First of all, it-s about preparing the team in the right way for the season that-s coming and I think this pre-season will be very important,” he said.
“I think we will start from a totally different level from which we started last season, as we never really had a proper pre-season together.
“We are now more of a unit and more of a team, so pre-season will make a huge difference for the coming season and we will have time to work together..
“As I said before, we had 13-14 new players and didn-t really have much of a pre-season together so now we are starting in a totally different way. And if we have two or three more players coming in it-s going to be better. I am very positive about it.”
Having been selected in Erik Hamren-s Swedish squad for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Moldova and Finland, Majstorovic-s season has yet to finish.
Naturally, he is relishing getting a break from the action later in June but will be raring to go when he returns for pre-season, one which he believes holds plenty of promise for the Hoops.
“It-s been a long season and now I’m away with the national team. So it-s a week more and then I will have a break for three or four weeks.
“But then I will come back with a lot of energy and really looking forward to meeting up with the guys again, to work and prepare for the new season. I think this team have a great future.”
PERTH GLORY v CELTIC FC
nib Stadium
SATURDAY, JULY 9
Kick-off 5pm
How to purchase tickets:
www.ticketmaster.com.au
Call Ticketmaster on 136 100
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