Brendan Rodgers primed for Celtic’s Champions League challenge after opening win

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers stressed they would be ready for the Champions League qualifiers after leaving it late to secure victory in their opening game of the domestic season.

The champions needed a deflected strike from substitute Luke McCowan to edge past St Mirren with a 1-0 win as they started their William Hill Premiership title defence at Parkhead.

Celtic earlier hit the frame of the goal through Benjamin Nygren, Reo Hatate and Adam Idah, and had a Callum McGregor strike disallowed for handball following a VAR intervention.

But a strikeforce led by Idah inside Daizen Maeda and Yang Hyun-jun – with James Forrest and Johnny Kenny coming off the bench – looked in need of the reinforcements which Rodgers has been calling for.

The Celtic manager was eager to praise his side’s display and not labour that point, but fans will be keen to see new signings come in soon after Monday’s Champions League play-off draw.

The likes of Sturm Graz and Basel await Celtic as they discover their fate for the high-risk, high-reward games, which will take place in the final two weeks of this month.

Rodgers said: “We’ll be ready for the games. Whenever they come, we’ll be ready. The players are working very hard.

“They are always tense games. But we’re in a good place and we’ll take that game on when it comes.

“We’ve had a really, really good pre-season. The players are shaping up very well and are working very hard. There’s real spirit and solidarity here in the team. So we look forward to that.

“We know whoever we get, it’s going to be tough, but it will also be tough for them.”

When asked whether their long wait for a goal against St Mirren underlined the need for more attacking options, Rodgers said: “We created a lot. We got