Celtic need pre season turbo boost in American dream repeat if they want to leave Rangers trailing again

Pre-season friendlies are often strange affairs. They don’t matter a jot in the grand scheme of things – unless a team wins them.

Lose, and the talk is all about performance rather than result. The chat is all about minutes on the pitch and yards in the legs.

Yet there are times when these bounce games can mean more.

Take last summer for Celtic.

The Hoops headed to the United States and it proved to be a major success on several fronts.

They made a decent wedge of dosh for a start, but they also got to connect with their US based supporters and helped top up the brand and so on.

But on the pitch the Stateside clashes proved to be absolutely vital.

It was quite funny sitting high in the stands at the sensational Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina when they took on Manchester City.

You’d think the Hoops were playing in the Champions League that night. They went at it hell for leather and it left the City players looking almost stunned at the ferocity of their play.

By the end of the 4-3 win it was a bit chaotic with all the subs and stuff but for an hour or so it seemed like a serious message of intent.

It was the same a few days later when they took on Chelsea at Notre Dame. If anything it was an even more impressive display as Brendan Rodgers men wiped the floor with the Blues in a 3-0 victory.

City and Chelsea shrugged off these games and rolled out the minutes in the legs patter.

Yet Celtic saw their confidence levels soar like they’d been given an adrenaline shot.

The momentum gained over that fortnight over the pond was carried right into the league season and the Champions League.

Celts made the kind of explosive start that pretty much wrapped up the Premiership before Christmas and cost yet another