Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou delivers mixed review of Banik Ostrava win and provides injury update

Ange Postecoglou admitted his Celtic side produced a mixed display despite a 4-2 win over Banik Ostrava in a pre-season fixture to mark the Czech club's 100th anniversary.

A capacity 15,000 crowd inside the Mestsky Stadion made for a boistorous atmosphere and a competitive match as Celtic recovered from going a goal behind to claim a 4-2 win in their third friendly of the summer after last week's 7-0 win over Wiener Viktoria and the weekend 3-3 draw with Rapid Vienna.

After falling behind to Eidar Sehic’s opener on seven minutes, goals from Kyogo Furuhashi (13), Matt O'Riley (24), Giorgios Giakoumakis (48) put Celtic in the driving seat before Muhamed Tijani pulled one back for Ostrava on 71 minutes.

Liel Abada killed off any comeback hopes with Celtic’s fourth goal three minutes later to ensure the Hoops finished their pre-season tour of Austria and the Czech Republic on a high note.

Postecoglou was happy with parts of the Celtic performance, which he described as “really good”, but admitted some areas also left room for improvement.

"We started a bit slow and I thought in general we were a bit sloppy with some of our passing,” he said.

"On the flipside of that our good moments were really good.

"Shades of early pre-season and cobwebs. They are working awfully hard in training so they are not going to be buzzing going into games, but I thought after that we picked up.

Ange Postecoglou admitted Celtic had 'sloppy' moments in their 4-2 friendly win over Banik Ostrava. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

"Our good stuff was really good but there are other areas we can still improve on."

Postecoglou also revealed Celtic came through their pre-season camp with "no significant injuries" as they prepare to return to home soil to face Blackburn Rovers in their next friendly on Saturday as preparations continue for their Scottish Premiership title defence.

"The last three games have been perfect and we're back inside Celtic Park on Saturday so it's been a great build-up so far," Postecoglou added.

"We've got some good training into the guys and most of them have got some decent match minutes and we've no significant injuries so from that point of view it's been a really good camp.

"And for players in general to come back in and have a really good attitude, the environment and the dressing room still feels like it's got a lot of energy which is great."

After facing Blackburn, Celtic travel to Poland for a friendly with Legia Warsaw next Wednesday before completing their pre-season schedule against Norwich City at Celtic Park on Saturday, July 23.

Then the competitive action starts with a trip to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen in the opening match of the new Premiership season on Sunday, July 31.

Meanwhile, Celtic have been linked with a £2million move for Paris Saint-Germain teenage star Edouard Michut.

The 19-year-old midfielder has featured for the French giants eight times but with three years remaining on his deal is looking to leave in search of regular first-team football.

According to Sky Sports, the Scottish champions are preparing a £2million offer for Michut.

Celtic have had previous joy in unearthing talent without a future at PSG, signing Odsonne Edouard before selling him to Crystal Palace for a profit.

'Ideal' transfer scenario laid out for £5.5m Celtic target