Christie looks to bounce back against Saints

CELTIC’S Ryan Christie has insisted that the Parkhead side need to regroup swiftly as they look to Wednesday night’s Betfred League Cup tie in Perth.

The attacking midfielder was given a rare start against Kilmarnock yesterday in what was a frustrating day for the club.

However, he has echoed the words of boss Brendan Rodgers by insisting that Celtic need to show their character as they look to get back on to winning form.

“It is just about belief and togetherness,” he said. “We know we have got that when we look at each other. We are starting to come under a bit of scrutiny but that is when you start looking to either side of you, at your team-mates.

“We are not panicking. We still highly believe that we can push on and get back to the top of our game.

“We have to forget about today, look at it and right the wrongs. Most importantly, focus on that and make sure we come out of that having progressed to the semi-final.”

Christie, though, acknowledged just how difficult a result it was to take at Rugby Park – the defeat meaning that Celtic now languish in sixth spot and have endured their worst start for 20 years.

“It is always gutting to lose a match in the last minute, particularly from something as simple as a set-piece,” he said.

“You know what you are going to come up against in Kilmarnock, they have done so well in the last couple of seasons.

“We dominated the ball for pretty much the whole match and for them to have only two shots on target and win 2-1 you can say that is unfortunate but we can only look at ourselves.”