Celtic: Are Scottish champions ready for fight on all fronts?

With Celtic about to begin the defence of their Scottish title and facing a crunch Champions League qualifying play-off, just how equipped are they to build on recent success and progress again this season?

Recruitment, aligned to key departures, has been a central theme of Celtic supporter conversation of late, with apparent concern that the squad is lacking in a number of areas echoed by manager Brendan Rodgers saying on Friday that there are “gaps in the squad that are very clear”.

There is still a long way to go in the transfer window, but with the expectation of a stronger title challenge from Rangers and a clear desire for continued participation at European football’s top table, are Celtic ready to take on the immediate challenges ahead?

Rodgers targeted improvement in Europe as a key aim on his return to the club and got that last season, pushing Bayern Munich in the Champions League play-off stage to narrowly miss out on a last-16 spot.

Participation on that stage this season will be determined by a play-off in just under a month, and missing out would be a significant setback.

With just one year left on Rodgers’ three-year contract, what happens over the coming weeks may go a long way to determining if he believes he can continue such progression.

Indeed, despite saying he is “very happy” at Celtic, the 52-year-old Northern Irishman stressed he is “not the type of manager” to stick around if a club is merely treading water and that there was “no update” on a new contract.