Celtic’s trophy winning Masters side are heading south on Saturday to take part in the Northern Masters event at the Metro Centre.
Tom Boyd and the crew will face Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Carlisle and Rangers in the event which will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Celtic won last season’s Scottish Masters by beating Dundee United in the final and also enjoyed success in March when they won the inaugural Emirates Cup in Dubai by beating AC Milan 3-2 in the final.
“We’re looking forward to something different,” Boyd admitted. “It’ll be good to play some different teams and see how we get on.
“Last year we made it to the British Masters then lost out to Tranmere who won the event.
“There was a bit of controversy about their goal and things got quite heated- that shows how much these things matter.
“When you’ve played for Celtic you expect to win and that never leaves you, the boys enjoy the pressure that brings.”
Paul Byrne will be making his Masters debut for Celtic after injury ruled Jackie McNamara out.
Every year new players meet the 35-plus criteria with Boyd stepping up his fitness programme in order to keep up with the young bucks.
He added: “I keep fit with my usual road running, you have to keep on top of things when you play in these events. As you get older you need to stay fit because there are other younger players coming on the scene for these events.
“I remember when I started playing in these competitions, there was a few guys over 40 that started working harder to keep their place.
“There’s always pressure, these events are enjoyable but everyone wants to win whether it’s 5’s, 7’s or 11-a-side. Everyone wants to do well and plays with pride.
“There’s bound to be a few Celtic supporters there even though it’s in Newcastle and it’s great to see the fans wherever we play.”
CELTIC SQUAD:
Stewart Kerr, Tom Boyd, Tosh McKinlay, Davie Elliot, Brian McLaughlin, Paul Byrne, Chic Charnley, TBC
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i sincerely hope the tbc is not darren jackson . another nacho novo !!