McGregor’s apology shows this will be a mad season

IF anyone needed a reminder of just how huge and crazy this season will be, they only had to listen to the words of Callum McGregor at Rugby Park. The Celtic midfielder apologised to their fans after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock and said the message was to stay calm. Only 180 minutes of football have been played in the Scottish Premiership. Two games. In most leagues on the planet, you wouldn’t hear that kind of talk for months. It just goes to show how much scrutiny the Celtic players are under this season. Of course, Rangers have it, too. But after being on top for the past nine years, there will be some people who view failure this season as Celtic losing a title rather than Rangers winning it. McGregor was perfectly correct when he talked about staying calm. It’s only two points dropped so early in the season.

Nothing at all gets sorted at this stage. But already, Celtic players are in the firing line for criticism. Christopher Jullien didn’t play very well at Rugby Park and both he and Kris Ajer are having questions asked of them. That’s something you have to handle as a player. You can be the most successful team for a number of years, but when we are talking about this holy grail of ten in a row, it brings a new level of pressure.

Celtic have shown in past years that they respond well to setbacks. They have plenty of proven winners in their squad who know what it takes. The challenge for Rangers, of course, is to try to put some doubt in their minds. That means building on a positive start by showing real consistency in the coming weeks. Every little advantage has to be grabbed in a campaign set to go down in history.