CLICK TO SEE CELTIC TRAIN AT ANZ STADIUM

The 19-year-old, captured on a Bosman and signed on a four year deal from Cardiff City, is looking to unseat Mark Wilson in the Hoops line-up this season.

Saturday night’s opening tour match at Sydney’s ANZ stadium offers the Welsh starlet an early chance to press his claims in front of manager Neil Lennon.

Matthews was one of the first to arrive in Australia and was put through a tough session by coach Johan Mjallby on Thursday at Sydney’s Macquarie University.

The squad trained at ANZ Stadium today (Friday) in an even longer and more intense session to complete their preparations.

While it’s not the ideal, Matthews is upbeat that Celtic will put on a good show.

“We’ve  been here two days so I think the body’s got time to get used to it, but still adjusting to the different time zones but I’m sure come Saturday everyone will be feeling fine and we’ll be 100%,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“It was very intense,” he said of Thursday’s session. “Our bodies needed it. We’ve had three days travelling so it’s just good to get us back into the swing of things and I thought it was a good session - but it was hard.

“I think it’s what the team needs at this point.”

Matthews conceded he didn’t know much about Australia or the A-League but said it was a dream come true to visit the land Down Under.

With a sunny day and 19 degrees predicted for Saturday, a crowd of 20,000 plus is tipped for the clash.

And with Celtic missing five key players who will join the squad in Perth next Tuesday, Central Coast will fancy their chances of an upset against the legendary Scottish club.

Once Celtic return they will kick off their SPL campaign on July 24. And for Matthews, Wales will face the Socceroos on August 10 in Cardiff.

After debuting in May for his nation, he's hopeful of another call-up against Holger Osieck's boys who will be preparing for World Cup qualifiers starting in September.

“I’m not sure if I’ll be picked. I just want to concentrate on getting a starting place at Celtic but obviously I’d be happy if I got called up but that’s up to the manager. If I do play though, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it,” he said.

Matthews debuted for Wales coming on as a sub in the 3-1 Carling Nations Cup loss to Scotland in Dublin.

The Welsh are currently ranked 114 in FIFA's world rankings are involved in qualifying for Euro 2012.

Manager Gary Speed’s squad is a young one with an eye on the future featuring the likes of Matthews, his Celtic team-mate Joe Ledley, captain Aaron Ramsay from Arsenal and Spurs star Gareth Bale.

“It’s heading in the right direction,” said Matthews. “It’s a young team but it’s a very good team, so I think in a few years if we achieve our potential we can be a good football nation and compete to get into the major championships.”

If you can’t get to Celtic’s three Australian tour games but want a copy of the souvenir programme published by FourFourTwo, here’s more info on how you can buy one online.

CLICK TO SEE CELTIC TRAIN AT ANZ STADIUM