Celts are ready to go the distance

Skipper McGregor believes Ange’s men are built to last in title battle

CSince the last international break, we have just been outstanding

ALLUM McGregor never bought into the idea that Rangers had the title sewn up after seven games. And he’s not about to make any rash predictions over Celtic ribbons on the SPFL trophy four games later.

After a win over Hibernian he rates as the most convincing so far, however, the Parkhead captain will say this much. After a shaky start to the campaign, Ange Postecoglou’s team are quietly building up a head of steam. In contrast to last season, the Premiership now has a title race to speak of. And this one has the potential to go all the way.

‘I think that’s as good as we’ve been,’ said McGregor of the 3-1 win over Hibs. ‘Some of the stuff was outstanding.

‘We should’ve been five up before they’d had a chance.

‘Just from our perspective, it’s great that we seem to be improving with every game. Since we came back from the international break, we’ve been outstanding. Even second half at Hibs we show another side to our game where we have to dig in and defend for each other.

‘You always have moments like that in games.

‘So, as good as the first half was, the second half was equally as important for the group to know that we can really dig in and see the game out.’

Even now, you wonder just how solid Celtic’s jaw really is. Yet, with every punch they absorb, they look a little more steady on their feet.

When Postecoglou’s side lost their fourth game in five on the artificial pitch of Livingston in September, a title challenge already looked a big ask. After a summer of transition and tumult and the delayed appointment of a new manager, injuries didn’t help. After seven games, they sat in sixth place without an away win since February 14.

The return of McGregor and Kyogo Furuhashi from injury was the beginning of the fightback. A Jota late goal in a 2-1 win in Aberdeen was pivotal to curing the travel sickness. A 2-0 success in Motherwell added some momentum. While Rangers were dropping two points against Aberdeen at home on Wednesday night, the Parkhead side were storming into an early three-goal lead at Easter Road.

Now just two points behind their bitter rivals, a revenge win over Livingston tomorrow could see them go top of the league for the first time this season. It might not last long if Rangers beat Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday but, from where they’ve been, Celtic are entitled to feel some satisfaction with how far they’ve travelled in a short space of time.

‘It’s still early doors,’ cautioned McGregor. ‘We were probably on the receiving end of questions a couple of weeks ago before the international break.

‘Now you see how quickly it can turn. So, by no means do we start to look at the end game.

‘It’s only a quarter through the season, so there’s so much more football to be played and the good thing about this team is that I still think there’s improvement in it as well.

‘We keep putting those demands on each other to get better and better. And, again, I think you saw the fruits of that against Hibs.’

Five weeks ago, Celtic’s aspirations would have stretched no further than keeping pace with Rangers until Christmas.

A more settled team now, their ambitions are growing slowly by the week.

Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers are showing signs of a more solid partnership in central defence. Anthony Ralston’s form — and goals — have made a new contract a question of when rather than if. Against Hibs, Tom Rogic rolled back the years, while the additions of Giorgos Giakoumakis and Mikey Johnston to attack offers a range of options. Last but not least is the signing of Joe Hart, an experienced and influential goalkeeper capable of making key saves at key times. Last season, Celtic didn’t have that. ‘Joe’s been first class,’ added McGregor (below). ‘Big, massive moments in the game, he makes two brilliant saves. ‘Every single player in there congratulated him. He just said: “That’s my job, I’ve got to keep the ball out of the net”. ‘It tells you humble he is as well, which is brilliant. ‘In those moments, you need big saves — and he’s been first class at that. The standards he sets every day for the younger lads to follow as well. The importance of that can’t be overlooked.’ The vulnerability of Rangers clearly helps. News of two early goals for Aberdeen at Ibrox filtered through to Easter Road while Celtic were easing their way into a three-goal lead. With supporters back in grounds, Scottish football is back in an old, nervous groove.

‘You hear the cheers from the crowd and you get a little feeling of what’s going on,’ said McGregor. ‘But for us, you are solely focused on the game. You can hear the noise, but football can change in a second.

‘So you never quite know until the game’s finished, then you have a look at the scoreboard, which is fine. But the most important thing was that we came to Easter Road and put on a display like that.

‘This is a completely new team and we’re still just finding out how good we can be.

‘We’re not looking elsewhere, we’re just looking within the building, trying to push each other every day.

‘I spoke about the manager putting demand on us. That’s what he’s doing and I think you can see the players responding to that and responding to the challenge.

‘There are so many young ones in this team to develop. So, once we get that right, who’s to say how good we can be?’