Celtic’s u-17 side face Spurs today in the final match of the Spartak Youth Cup in Moscow.
A win against the Premiership side would guarantee second place for Celtic with Barcelona three points ahead and assured of top spot after being Celtic 1-0 in the second match.
Since then Celtic have beaten Dinamo Kiev and Benfica with Tommy McIntyre delighted by the strides that the squad has taken over an intensive week.
“We’re looking forward to playing Spurs and go into the game confidently after two good wins against Kiev and Benfica,” the Celtic coach explained.
“Against Benfica we started with five u-16 players, that’s asking a lot of them but the older players really helped them through the match, they all benefited.
“The players are maturing quickly. We work them hard in training, it takes a bit of time for things to get through, we have to be patient but we can see them taking things on board and developing.
“All that we can ask for is that the players improve and we’re seeing that all the time. This is the first steps in their development into the professional game. They have worked hard and are getting the benefit in their results.”
Most tournaments involve a final but with six top clubs invited Spartak habve settled for a round-robin format.
“It’s been a great tournament, playing one game every day can be tough going but everyone has benefited.
“The final day sees us playing Spurs, Dinamo Kiev meet Spartak Moscow and Barcelona play Benfica so there’s everything to play for in these games.
“It’ll be three good games and our squad are looking forward to playing Spurs after facing the continental sides.
