“Not good enough. Celtic teams need to play with a certain level of personality and quality, and we didn’t do that,” the Celtic captain said after the shocking performance this afternoon at Rugby Park as the home side executed their game-plan perfectly and got the only goal of the match to knock holders Celtic out of the League Cup.
Before we look at what Callum McGregor had to say about the defeat, here are the match ‘highlights’…
Speaking to Celtic TV after the defeat Callum McGregor pulled no punches as he analysed the terribly poor showing from the team who can have no complaints at exiting the competition at this early stage. Here’s what the captain had to say…
Celtic TV: Callum, what are your thoughts on that defeat?
Callum McGregor: “Not good enough. Celtic teams need to play with a certain level of personality and quality, and we didn’t do that. I think it’s a reminder for everyone that you don’t have the God-given right to turn up and win trebles. It’s not easy, you come here, and you have to fight and find a way to win the game, find the quality moment to win the game and we didn’t do that. We didn’t have enough quality. So that’s disappointing for sure, but we have to learn from it now. We’re at a crossroads in the season, similar to where we were two years ago when the new manager came in the first time. It’s important that everyone sticks together, and we find the solutions and the answers to the problems that lie on the pitch. As I said, the only way we’re going to get better is if everyone sticks together, and it serves as a reminder that every time you cross the pitch you have to give everything.”
Celtic TV: What was lacking in the performance – you touched a little bit about the quality – was that the biggest factor in that game?
Callum McGregor: “I think so, we’re not going to make any excuses for the pitch being dry. We came here last year and won 4-0 showing enough quality, so it just shows that you have to be at the level every time. We speak about this leading into cup games – the record over so many years has been very good – but that’s because you turn up and you play, and you don’t get any second chances. Now, the lads realise that in cup competitions you have to be on the money regardless of where you go, what stadium it is, and what opponent it is, you have to find a way to win the game. It’s a reminder to the group that you can’t just turn up and expect to win games of football.”
Celtic TV: What’s important for us now in this week to ensure that we come back again next weekend and we get three points?
Callum McGregor: “That’s it now, it’s gone. It’s hugely disappointing, everybody will feel it, none more so than the players, the manager and the supporters. Now, we have to stick together – it’s a crossroads moment – there is still so much football to be played. We have to learn from it and that’s the biggest thing – you can’t let it fester and snowball into two/three/four games, you have to find something within yourself as a player to go again and put this right. Like I said, there’s a lot of football to be played and we have to get it right so that starts tomorrow.”
It’s alright speaking these words of wisdom after the defeat, but where was the team effort for 90 odd minutes today? Calum was one of the worst offenders, he’s been pretty poor these past few weeks. I blame the change in style and the upset it’s causing established players, they don’t seem to know what they’re doing on the park now and their playing deeper than they did when Ange was around. So it’s part team spirit, part tactics. The latter is down to Rodgers.
Why change the way we have playing for the last two years? It was working for us and it was great to watch. Is it down to Brendan Rogers ego? Are we going back to sideways passes and pass-backs. It may have worked for us domestically in the past but it got us nowhere in Europe. Why has he (Rogers) changed the way we’ve been playing? Why change a winning formula? Does his ego not allow him to accept that the previous manager had us playing the most exciting football I’ve seen Celtic play in years. Does he have to change it just to prove that he is the boss?