Celtic captain Callum McGregor spoke to the media after the 3-1 win at McDiarmid Park yesterday afternoon. Here’s what was said…
Q: Can you talk us through your goal, how sweet was that strike?
Callum McGregor: “I knew I was going to hit it on the half-volley as soon as it dropped. It’s one of those you have to shoot. I caught it clean and knew as soon as I hit it that it had a chance. It was a good strike and I was glad to see it going in.”
Q: Are you aware that this is your first goal since May?
Callum McGregor: “Yeah? It’s a defensive midfield role and there are not as many opportunities to join in the goals. But it’s always nice to get one.”
Q: In the context of the game it was an important goal, wasn’t it?
Callum McGregor: “I thought the second half we looked much more like ourselves in terms of the intent and aggression we played with. We started the half well and the goal was coming but we needed something like that or a bit of luck. You see the fans get a lift and the players get a lift and performance levels go up another notch. Two other brilliant finishes from Matt and James take the game away.”
Q: Are you also aware that you have scored more goals against Saints (six) than any other top-flight team?
Callum McGregor: “That’s a nice stat but the most important thing is the team wins.”
Q: Brendan Rodgers told us that was the angriest he has ever been at half-time. Was it fair?
Callum McGregor: “It was definitely fair what he said. The first-half performance was nowhere near good enough to be a Celtic team. These places are difficult to come. If you don’t start the game well it gives them momentum.
“You could see after 25 minutes they got a couple of presses on and their tails went up. They get the goal and it makes the game even harder. Credit to them.
“But we were miles short in the first half. The gaffer was spot-on in terms of what he said. He was looking for a reaction and the pleasing thing was we rectified it and won the game. It’s important we keep winning.”
Callum McGregor – “As a professional footballer, the last thing you want to be called is soft.”
“The gaffer was spot on in terms of what he said. The first-half performance was nowhere near good enough to be a Celtic team. You never want to be soft. That’s the one thing when you’re a good football team, and the opposition try to look for areas to exploit. As a professional footballer, the last thing you want to be called is soft.
“That hurts the group. We can’t have too many moments like that because you’ll see teams will try to play on it. Does it sting? Yes it will. It will sit with the players in four or five days’ time, because nobody likes to get a sore one off the manager. We have to take it on the chin because we deserved it.
“You could see after about 25 minutes that St Johnstone got a couple of presses on and their tails went up. They then scored the goal and it makes the game even harder. You have to credit them, but we were miles short in the first half. We’ve got to be much better and stronger in those moments, especially when we are defending the box.
“The manager was looking for a reaction and the pleasing thing was we rectified it and won the game. So we don’t want to be all doom and gloom. We rectified it and when you’re a team that sets high standards, but drop below them, then it’s the manager’s job to tell you — and the players’ job to fix it.
“The intent was there to get ourselves out of trouble. It could turn out to be a big half for us. We have all been in football a long time now, and you are never going to play well every game. You have to accept that at times. But what you can’t accept is probably the level or performance in the first half, we can’t accept that.
“In this period we have so many games and we’ve got to keep winning. It doesn’t matter how, you just have to keep winning.”
Here’s the Unique Angle from Celtic TV…
And the post-match celebrations, also from Celtic TV…
And if you missed Sandman’s Definitive Ratings this morning then catch up using the link below… Jamesy LOL!
READ THIS…Sandman’s Definitive Ratings – Celtic at Ray Kinsella’s Cornfield
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