Pride will spur team on, insists Celtic midfielder

Callum Mcgregor insists pride and preparation will underpin Celtic’s end to the season.

With seven Scottish Premiership matches remaining, the managerless Hoops are 18 points behind Old Firm rivals Rangers at the top of the table with the quest for 10 successive titles in tatters.

Neil Lennon resigned as manager last month with assistant John Kennedy stepping in as interim boss and he began his tenure with a 1-0 home win over Aberdeen at the weekend.

Ahead of the trip to Tannadice on Sunday to play Dundee United, midfielder Mcgregor told Celtic’s official website he is looking to end the campaign on a positive note with an eye to next season.

He said: “It’s important to regroup and go again.

“We’re playing for pride. At Celtic, you win every game and that’s what we have to get back to.

“We have to get back to that ruthless mentality where we’re fully prepared, understanding our roles within the team and putting that all together.

“We look at every game as an opportunity to get better, become more organised and win games.

“We’re judged on results at the weekend so we have to get results.

“This period between now and the end of the season is about preparing for the start of next season.

“We have a good basis here over the next eight weeks to really put our foot to the floor and continue to get better.”

The last time Celtic visited Tannadice was last August when with Albian Ajeti’s 83rdminute goal gave the Hoops a narrow 1-0 win, while they followed up with a 3-0 victory at Parkhead in December.

Mcgregor said: “We’re expecting a really tough game.

“The two games against them have been tough, so we’ll need to be at our best to get something.

“It’s traditionally always a tough game there.

“The pitch is a little bit tighter, they pressed us very well in the first game there and we had to wait until late on to get the goal from Albian, so we expect more of the same.

“We’re fully prepared for the game and when the game comes, we have to be bang at it to get a result.”

Callum Mcgregor: Expects tough game at Tannadice.