Keeping going no matter the result or performance is a sign of champs.. that’s why we are
McGregor hails Celts’ relentless drive to title thanks to late goals as the Hoops dig out another big win
IT was scruffy at best, ugly at worst but Callum McGregor insists Celtic’s last-gasp win in Dundee was championship winning style.
The midfielder admitted the Hoops were pretty far from at their best as they huffed and puffed at Dens Park, but they managed to do what winners do. They got the job done. Odsonne Edouard’s 95th minute strike saved any blushes on Tayside and helped Celts take a huge step towards securing eight Premiership titles in a row, 24 hours after Rangers stumbled at home to Kilmarnock.
A 10-point gap with eight games to go – including the Old Firm clash a week on Sunday – have sent the champions on their way and McGregor admitted it’s the winning mentality at Parkhead that is fuelling the charge towards the finishing line.
Celtic are making a habit of the late, late shows, with a stoppage time victory at Kilmarnock last month before Brendan Rodgers made his shock exit followed by last-gasp wins for Neil Lennon at Hearts and now Dens.
Scotland star McGregor insisted it’s no fluke his side keep pulling results out of the bag. He said: “It’s a sign of champions that they keep going, no matter the result or performance. We knew what we had to do and credit to the lads, we stuck to it right to the end and we got the goal with a wee bit of quality.
“We were really good in the first 50 or 60 minutes, we created a lot of chances and could have been two or three up at half-time but sometimes you don’t get them and you keep digging in and digging in and keep going.
“To get to 10 points is massive. We spoke about what we wanted to do in the game before. We let a chance slip last week and we were determined not to do that. It just shows you the resilience of the players, we never know when we’re beat or going to drop points, we always get that goal, so it’s a true sign of champions.”
McGregor was back in the heart of the Celtic side on Sunday after missing almost a month with a calf injury.
The 25-year-old found it hard watching from the sidelines as the Hoops edged ever closer to the dream treble-treble after he had played 50 games on the spin as the only ever-present at Celts.
But he relished his chance to get back to work at the weekend before hopping on board the plane with the Scotland squad
We knew what we had to do and credit to the lads, we stuck to it right to the end McGREGOR
after declaring himself fit for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and San Marino.
McGregor said: “I played a lot of games and sort of broke down but it’s brilliant to be back and to return with a victory.
“I just want to play. I probably wasn’t meant to play as long as I did but it’s good to test it and see how it is and I feel okay.”
McGregor is set to be a key man for Scotland but his club boss admitted he will have an anxious wait over the break.
Lennon will be sweating over several stars and confessed he’ll be praying they all return in one piece to face Rangers on March 31.
McGregor will have Scott Bain, Kieran Tierney, Oliver Burke for company on Scotland duty, Mikey Johnston with the under 21s and the likes of Mikael Lustig on Sweden service and Dedryck Boyata called up for Belgium.
Kris Ajer is set to be assessed by Norway’s medical staff after suffering a head knock at Dens.
Lennon said: “We have got a lot of players away so you are sitting on the end of the phone biting your nails.”
Lennon will keep the rest of the home base Celts ticking over but he admitted the international break is the ideal opportunity for a few of his walking wounded to put the feet up and get ready for the big push. He said: “The rest of the guys we can rest and work. They’ve played all the games in every competition domestically, in the Champions League qualifiers, in the Europa League, they are playing for their countries and they give everything every week. “It’s a good time for some of them who aren’t going away with their country to have a break.”