Most heartening for the Northern Irishman is that Neil Lennon is the man underlining how important the 28-year-old remains to the manager.

McCourt is in the final year of his contract, and has made it clear that a continuation of a lack of game time, which he has experienced in the past four seasons, would be the only thing which would force him to reluctantly call time on his Hoops' career.

He figured only as a sub in last term's SPL, and it has been the same story in the early stages of this campaign.

A niggling groin injury caused him to miss out on the game in Helsinki last midweek, and while the majority of his team-mates were in Philadelphia over the weekend, he was receiving an injection to try and clear the problem.

Lennon has already written him off for Saturday's game against Ross County, but he believes that, when McCourt has recovered, he will have an important role to play in his side.

The manager is aware of his player's public declaration that he may have to consider asking to leave to get more time on the pitch if it is not forthcoming at Celtic, but Lennon revealed: "He has not come to me. Normally he would have a quiet word.

"But Paddy knows he is an important member of the squad, and I am hoping to give him more game time this year.

"The squad is a lot thinner, so there will be more opportunities for him to play."

Lennon appreciates the effort McCourt has made over the summer break to return to action in the best possible condition to push for a place, and said: "Paddy has done very well pre-season in terms of his fitness levels.

"Unfortunately, he has just picked up this little niggling groin strain. Hopefully the injection he has had will clear it up.

"He is very handy, whether he starts or comes on. He has a great impact at times on games."

A fact not overlooked by other managers, including Blackpool boss Ian Holloway, who has previously had cash and loan bids rejected.

Lennon reports that there has been no fresh decision to make on the future of his forward, but he is sure he knows what action to take if an offer does come in before the window closes in a fortnight.

He said: "We have had no real interest in Paddy of late. And, even if we do, we would probably rebuff it anyway.

"I want to keep to him around the place."

McCourt is not the only Celtic player who has been struggling to hold down a starting place and who has now been told he is being viewed as an important part of Lennon's plans for the coming campaign.

Defender Thomas Rogne has also impressed the Celtic manager, who was relieved to discover the young Norwegian had not suffered yet another unfortunate injury when he went down requiring attention late in the glamour game against Real Madrid.

"Thomas is fine," revealed Lennon. "It was just a touch of cramp late in the game.

"I have been very pleased with him because he struggles with a midweek game then a weekend game.

"But he looks in great shape, and he could be an important player if he gets a run of games.

"It's just a question with the guys who have an injury record of managing them and trying to get more out of them in terms of game time."

With the squad as lean as it has been for several years, and made even thinner with the number of players injured, including captain Scott Brown, James Forrest, Anthony Stokes, Dylan McGeouch, Daryl Murphy, Mo Bangura and McCourt, Lennon will have to carefully use all the resources that are still available to him during what will be a very intensive series of fixtures.

They start on Saturday when the Hoops play Ross County in the SPL, then it's off to Helsingborgs for the first leg of their Champions League play-off.

Midfielder Victor Wanyama is suspended for that match after collecting a red card in Helsinki last week, further limiting Lennon's options.

Another run up the A9, this time to Inverness, is next on the schedule for Celtic before Helsingborgs come to Parkhead for what will be the Hoops' first game at home after five on the road.

This is what all the careful pre-season conditioning was designed to allow the players to handle, but Lennon concedes the action is about to come thick and fast for his band of players.

"It's going to be one important game after another from this weekend on," the Parkhead boss acknowledged.

Which is why having to wave goodbye to a clutch of players this week as they are required to play in international friendlies clearly irks the Northern Irishman.

Lennon said: "The timing of this international break could not come at a worse point for us, really.

"It's six weeks after a major championship, and I really don't know what international managers get out of these early season friendlies, anyway."