Callum McGregor has insisted that Angeball will not be ditched, after a string of disappointing results that have left the fans feeling deflated.
The Celtic skipper knows too well the pressures that come with playing for the Hoops. He himself was witness last year to the scathing criticism the club received from various quarters, including the paying support. However, McGregor is not willing to abandon ideals which he feels will come good with time. The team leader said: “What we have to do is stick together” as reported by the official Celtic TV.
“There’s no point getting a third of the way through the process and then just throwing it in the bin. That doesn’t make sense,” Scottish Sun reports. “When teams are building for success, it takes a bit of time. Being at Celtic, you do not necessarily get the time, which is why everyone is asking us questions about it — and that’s understandable.”
“But if you want to build something, you have to commit. There’s no point in half committing — it doesn’t work. It’s the hardest thing to say, ‘Be patient’. It almost sounds like an excuse but it’s not. That’s what happens when you are building things. It takes time.
“There have been enough encouraging signs but we have to understand that to play well and lose isn’t acceptable at Celtic. We have so many new and young players and that is going to take time to drum in that message. But, as players, we have to keep doing that.
“Guys who have been at the club a long time understand the standards that have been set by this club and by previous teams. And that’s where we have to get to. It’s a process — but we will get there. We just need to be patient. It is going to be a process. I don’t think anyone is shying away from that. What we have is a really young group of players who are learning on the job.”
Callum is correct in his appraisal of the new team taking time to adapt, especially with a turnover of so many players. Celtic have not had a consistent eleven to pick from since Ange arrived at Paradise. The manager barely knows his best starting team due to a plague of injuries.
With this in mind, McGregor is also looking forward to having more bodies to lighten the load. He added: “The squad is a bit thin at the moment and we need to try and get some bodies in to help, as physically it is really challenging. But what I will say is there’s the makings of a good team there.”
“I think we have shown that in pretty much all of the games we have played. It’ll just take time as what he is asking us to do is a very demanding style. There’s not many teams playing this way and there’s no hiding place within the system.”
“We certainly have enough quality. What we do have is a young team and you only get experience by playing. There’s no fast forward button. They have to experience it, make mistakes and learn to deal with it. That’s the process. It’s about marrying the mentality and the quality to get results. We have to do that pretty quickly now.”
It’s undeniable that Celtic have not had the smoothest of transitions in recent months, since Ange took over the team. There have, however, been glimpses of the way Angeball can be deadly when everyone is on form and firing. We all hope it will click again on Sunday with the return of some of our strongest players.
Paul Gillespie
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