Dane Murray emerges from Celtic injury nightmare as Rodgers throws weight behind a player itching for more

Dane Murray has loved his Celtic tests in pre-season as he picked up more top team minutes in the thriller with Queen's Park.

Brendan Rodgers - who singled out the defender alongside team-mate Bosun Lawal in the first fixture of the summer schedule at Ayr United - put him in again at the City Stadium as the Scottish champions ran out 6-4 winners in Mount Florida. There were plenty of goals for the fans at the ground and at home to enjoy - with the Hoops gaffer expressing the good and the bad of his troops' performance after the match.

Murray - who has thrown in at the deep end when Ange Postecoglou arrived, including in Champions League qualifiers - has just got himself back fit after an extended, difficult period with injuries with the profile of the defender one that Rodgers is keen on. The stopper hopes to continue impressing and force his way into the plans with the Parkhead side heading out to the USA for the final part of their pre-season preparations.

They face DC United and EPL big hitters Manchester City and Chelsea as they ramp up the opposition and quality. It's then the Scottish Premiership opener with Kilmarnock early August. Murray, now 21, knows it will be a long season ahead challenging both domestically and looking to make a splash on Europe's elite in the premier competition. But starting off on the right foot is the ideal preparation.

He told Celtic TV: "It was good to get minutes in the legs again. I think in the first half, we did well but I think we came out in the second half and, in the first 15 minutes, showed what we can do. In pre-season, these are the games that you want to be tested. They [Queen's Park] knew what they wanted to do, they were playing against Celtic so they wanted to impose