Sunderland boss Chris Coleman reveals first details of his pre-season plans

It will not be a ‘glamour’ fixture.

However, with Coleman eager for his time to play a similar style of opposition to what they will face in their league campaign, whether it be the Championship or League One.

Sunderland were beaten 5-0 on home turf by Celtic in the Dafabet Cup at the start of this season.

The Black Cats look set to begin their pre-season with a spell on Wearside, before a week-long training camp abroad, returning to play a number of fixtures in the UK.

Coleman said: “The last game, no matter what league we’re in, you want to be playing a certain kind of opposition.

“You don’t want to go and play a Dutch team or for them to come here.

“They’ll play a style that is completely different to what we face the week after.

“You want to play a Scottish club, or a team nearby where it is physical, hustle, bustle, all that.

“We’re quite far down the line with where we want to go. Martin Bain (chief executive) is fine with it, it is just the last game we need to sort out, really.

“It is pointless us playing someone from Spain or somewhere like that. We get a runaround for 90 minutes, don’t see much of the ball – there’s no benefit to us in that.

“It won’t be Celtic, mind you.

“I’ve had my own slaps from them in pre-season games!

“The camp abroad we’re looking at will be no games, just a training camp.

“Sometimes with these things, there can be someone nearby, you play a behind-closed-oors game.

“Everyone wins, but, at the moment, there’s no plans for that.”

Sunderland’s pre-season schedule will ultimately be broadly similar to last year, drawn up by David Moyes before he left the club following relegation from the Premier League.

Protracted takeover negotiations followed, with Simon Grayson appointed just a week before the schedule began with a trip to Bury.