Callum McGregor was far from happy with that Celtic performance in yesterday’s 2-2 draw against St Mirren at Celtic Park, a second successive home draw for the team and of course you can through in that 3-0 defeat at Ibrox last weekend. Celtic have two matches ahead of the Scottish Cup final, a trip to Easter Road in midweek and then Trophy Day on Saturday lunchtime against Aberdeen where the Celtic players and support will finally get a chance to celebrate yet another title win for the club.
Then it’s Scottish Cup Final week and these two games surely will see Celtic regain our mojo ahead of going to Hampden, backed by a huge Celtic support looking to complete a Treble. Here’s the thoughts of the Celtic captain after the match, speaking to Celtic TV…
Celtic TV: How would you assess the performance today?
Callum McGregor: “I am really annoyed with that. In the first half we were so far off the pace as we lost two really poor goals. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb after just three minutes. We get ourselves back on terms and we give away another poor goal which, after that, they are happy to sit in. You have to probe and try and get back into the game.
“The second half was a lot more like us and we nearly got the job done. It was good in that sense that we managed to get a point, but we can’t start games like that, and we can’t give ourselves so much work to do. We need to learn quickly from that and there are three really important games to go, and we need to be at it now.”
Celtic TV: It was noticeable at the end as the tempo did go up. Can you put your finger on why it seemed a little bit slower in pace throughout the first 45?
Callum McGregor: “We did not start the game well and there were probably a number of different reasons for that. In the second half we looked like a team who wanted to win the game and take the game to them, but we were in trouble at that point. We play with everything and that is the way we have been playing. We need to get back to that for 90 minutes.”
Celtic TV: We can sense your frustration, but you did lead by example with a fine equaliser. It was a great goal and could Celtic have stolen it at the end?
Callum McGregor: “You think when we get the equaliser, we can go on and get the winner. We had a couple of good chances, and we don’t put them away and we gave ourselves so much work to do when we were chasing the game like that it becomes frantic and more uptight in the final third. You maybe lose a little bit of quality in the final third.
“If we can cut out the mistakes and give ourselves a good platform in the game like we have done all season, then that sort of finishing becomes a little bit easier. We have to go now and get back to showing everybody the team that we are.”
Celtic TV: In these two quick games you have the ideal chance to pick things back up again.
Callum McGregor: “That is the good thing we have another game soon. That’s the good thing about football, it always gives you a chance to rectify the result previously. We have to recover now and go full steam for Wednesday and Saturday.”
▶️ Callum McGregor’s late equaliser extended Celtic’s unbeaten home record as St Mirren kept their European hopes alive 🔽 pic.twitter.com/wkR6ADH88B
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 20, 2023
