McGregor proud as holders show steel in wild conditions at Hampden
WHEN the football can’t quite flow, Callum McGregor knows Celtic have the “steel” to still get the job done. Under the Hampden lights on Saturday evening, and in dreadful conditions, Ange Postecoglou’s team showed once again they possess the grit to match their talent. A Viaplay Cup semi- final win over Kilmarnock probably won’t linger too long in the memory, but it was another example of this group’s invaluable knack of simply finding a way.
Killie threw just about everything they could at an upset, and it still wasn’t enough to make them crack. And, as it tends to do over and over, the Parkhead side’s quality told in the end.
“A positive result,” McGregor said. “Obviously, the ambition when you come to a semi final is just to get to the final. We knew it would be a difficult game, obviously with the conditions as well. I thought we showed our steel at times in the game as well and added to that some quality to get us where we wanted to be.”
Rain battered the Hampden pitch for most, if not all, of the 90 minutes. As time wore on, the surface began to cut up badly, making already difficult conditions that bit trickier. But while they stood up to the fight when they had to, McGregor says Celtic were determined not to be drawn into an out- and- out battle with their eager opponents, regardless of conditions underfoot.
“It was pretty wild,” the midfielder said. “But that is part of football, you have to deal with that, you have to deal with the pitch on the day. In semi- finals, it is not about great football, you have to get the job done, which I thought we did well.
“We saw the pitch before the game and the message was we will still try and play the game the way we want to play and try not to turn it into a fight or a scrap because they have some big, physical boys and maybe that is the way they wanted the game to pan out.
“It was important we tried to stick to our principles as much as we could. Obviously in the moments when you have to defend and be strong, then that is of course part of the game as well, but I thought it was important to try and continue to play the way that we play.”
Their approach paid dividends, setting McGregor up with a 10th cup final of an already glittering career. But he’s not so keen on making a big deal of the fact that he has yet to lose one in green and white.
“Don’t jinx me!” the Celtic captain laughed. “Obviously it is good to get there. Like I said, that was the objective today. But there is a lot of football to be played between now and then and when the final comes around the ambition is to win it, of course it is.
“We are tasked to bring success to this football club and that’s exactly what we will try to do come the final.
“Our objective was to get to the cup final and we have done that. We park it now. A big game during the week and then another cup game at the weekend. As always, the next game is the most important for us.”
There was late controversy with the tie still poised at 1- 0, a clumsy Giorgos Giakoumakis challenge on Joe Wright left Kilmarnock incensed when referee Willie Collum refused to point to the penalty spot. Manager Derek McInnes couldn’t believe the officials did not award his team the chance to take matters into extra- time. McGregor, however, disagreed.
“When the ball gets thrown in the box like that, I think both teams are going to be physical to try and gain an advantage,” he said. “I don’t think there was anything in it.”
The result ensured a positive start to Celtic competing in three competitions in seven days. Up next is St Mirren, the only side to inflict domestic defeat on them this season, in the Premiership followed by a Scottish Cup meeting with Greenock Morton. Plenty of plates to spin, but McGregor is not concerned that they might take their eye off any of them.
“I don’t think that is in this group’s mindset to be honest,” he insisted. “The gaffer demands that of us everyday, that we train as hard as we possibly can and then the next game we try and show everyone what we are like as a team. I don’t think it really matters what competition we play in, he demands that of us, and then the group demands that of itself. Hopefully that is a good way of working for us.”
When Saints come to Celtic Park on Wednesday, there may just be thoughts of revenge on the mind. Celtic’s domestic form has been imperious over the past 12 months, but McGregor uses what happened in Paisley back in September as evidence they can’t ever afford to relax.
“You have to be there,” he said. “That was a tough game and while it is a different venue they will cause the same threat I imagine. They will feel good about the way the game went the last time and we just have bring our best game if we want to get maximum points.”