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The Swede, manager Neil Lennon’s right-hand man, took today's session which featured some taxing two-versus-two games as the players kicked out the cobwebs from their 24 hour flight.

Celtic have staggered their players’ arrival into Australia with captain Scott Brown, Dutchman Glen Loovens and Charlie Mulgrew among the first to arrive on Tuesday along with manager Neil Lennon.

Under the watchful eye of Mjallby they were part of a group of seven to train today on a back pitch at Sydney FC's training base at Macquarie University. 

Mjallby said this tour was primarily about preparing the players’ fitness levels for the new season but conceded the Bhoys always wanted to win once they step out in the Hoops shirt. 

“Obviously it’s the first session more or less of the pre-season. It’s been a long journey and this is the first group to arrive. That’s why we thought it’d be good to get them used to the conditions and work them hard," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

Saturday night’s tour opener at Sydney’s 80,000 capacity ANZ stadium will be followed by Perth Glory (July 9) and Melbourne Victory (July 13) as the Bhoys tune up for their new campaign back home.

“That’s why you go on a pre-season tour. Obviously you’ve got games to think about but the training is even more important at this stage of the season,” he added.

Last night the remainder of the Bhoys squad landed in the Harbour City and were given the morning off to recover before training tomorrow (Friday) at ANZ stadium.

Mjallby added this was the earliest pre-season he’d been involved in with the Bhoys set for a July 24 SPL kick-off at Easter Road against Hibernian.

And this will be followed by a clash with Inter Milan at the end of July in the Dublin Super Cup.

“Some of the players finished their season on June 7 with internationals so we have to be a bit clever with our preparation for them,” Mjallby said.

With this in mind, Greek striker Giorgios Samaras, Swedish defender Daniel Majstorovic and South Korean duo Cha Du-Ri and Ky Sung-Yueng will arrive in Perth on July 5 ahead of game two against Perth Glory.

“We want everyone to have at least three weeks off otherwise there might be a risk they break down. It’s more important to plan for the season ahead more than the games,” added Mjallby.  

“You use the games to get fit as well. But obviously when the players are out there, they want to win.”

Ticket sales are said to be brisk with a crowd of 20,000 plus tipped for the clash against the A-League side.

And the night will also feature a function from the Men of Football foundation, which aims to raise funds to support former players, coaches, administrators, referees, officials and their families who have fallen on hard times.

Men of Football’s motto is: “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

CLICK HERE TO SEE CELTIC TRAIN IN SYDNEY