It will come around quickly before most of us have even packed our own suitcases for the summer holiday season. After a gruelling campaign which will end on May 25th, and not forgetting two international games in June, Celtic will begin their next assault on Champions League Group Stages qualification in July.
It hardly seems fair that players like Calum McGregor, James Forrest, and Scott Bain will only have a couple of weeks off before pre-season training starts again.
The first of four qualifiers will be on July 9th or 10th so the squad will need to be ready for the challenge.
In previous years, Celtic have faced seemingly easy opponents in the first qualifier – although the 1-0 defeat to Lincoln Red Imps in Brendan Rodgers’ first game in charge was a bump in the road.
A report from the Daily Record outlined four of the possibly toughest teams Celtic could face, but how much do we know about them?
CFR Cluj - Romania
Cluj have become used to European football recently with stints in the Champions League and Europa League. They won their domestic league by two points from Steau Bucharest. Managed by former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu, they went into insolvency in 2014 and were only allowed back into European competition again at the start of the 2018-19 season.
Rosenborg - Norway
Yes, you guessed it, The Norwegians may once again be on the plane to Glasgow. If the two teams are drawn out of the hat it will be the seventh match in the last two years.
Winners of their domestic league in 2018, they currently sit in 12th place after nine games. Of course, they played a huge part in Celtic’s qualification out of the Europa League group when they scored a late equaliser against RB Leipzig which meant the German side finished below Celtic, despite the Hoops losing their final game against Red Bull Salzburg.
Red Star Belgrade - Serbia
Crvena Zvezda, as they are officially known, were a Champions League group team this season, playing against eventual finalists Liverpool. One of the most famous club names in European Football, Red Star Belgrade changed name earlier this decade after a bad financial situation which left the club almost extinct.
BSC Young Boys - Switzerland
Another group stage team from last season, where they came up against Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. Domestic champions in 2018-19, this team are a very dangerous outfit and would present Celtic with a huge challenge to overcome. If successful, the travelling Hoops support would welcome the trip to the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern.