Griffiths admits players are devastated by Ibrox defeat and insists red card changed the game

ONCE the predictable noise and commotion from this Old Firm clash had calmed down, silence followed. Not to mention questions surrounding how the game escaped Celtic. Revealing the feeling of speechlessness, disappointment and regret in the away dressing room, striker Leigh Griffiths admitted to an atmosphere of devastation among the group of Parkhead players.

A contest which they had controlled suddenly slipped from their grasp. Nir Bitton’s decision to bring down Alfredo Morelos completely changed the outlook of this New Year derby.

Boss Neil Lennon took aim at referee Bobby Madden post-match for his decision to send off the Israeli in the 62nd minute. Among the debate of the incident, Bitton was certainly not in control of the situation as he fouled the Rangers striker.

It was a moment which left Celtic fans open-mouthed as their team fell to a defeat thanks to Callum McGregor’s own goal, and 19 points behind in the Premiership table, albeit with three games in hand.

Celtic’s players were left scratching their heads as they departed Ibrox empty-handed. Asked about Bitton’s reaction after the game, Griffiths replied: ‘He has not said much. The boys are devastated. I’m sure he’ll tell us his thinking behind it…’

Having turned their form around in the last month, Celtic knew they had to take something from Ibrox to have any hope of clawing Rangers back. The confidence among the team was acknowledged by Griffiths but his feeling of disappointment was summed up by Bitton’s red card.

‘We hadn’t played well in the first few months of the season but started gathering momentum at the start of December,’ said the striker, right. ‘Today we played well — until the sending off I thought we were the much better team.

‘The red card changes the game and Rangers are on the front foot from then. I think it’s soft. He (Morelos) has got a long way to go, Kris Ajer is coming round covering too.

‘But it’s done now. Whether it’s right or wrong it’s down to him (the ref). Only he can explain his decision but for me it is soft.’

Celtic have now headed for a warm-weather training week in Dubai. The heat of the Middle East has worked wonders for the club in recent seasons as they returned to Scotland and stormed to titles.

They host Hibernian a week tomorrow as they aim to bounce back but this gap is surely too huge to recover from. Hopes of ten in a row now appear to have vanished.

Asked if defeat at Ibrox was a defining day, Griffiths said: ‘Nah. Listen, we will keep fighting until it’s mathematically impossible for us to win the league. We’ll go away, reflect on it, work hard and prepare for Hibs.’

He added: ‘Losing any game is tough to take. We dominated the game, especially first half. But if you don’t take your chances you are not going to win games.’

While Celtic can reflect on their dreadful form earlier in the season which had led to them falling so far behind their rivals, Griffiths was looking back on how he left Ibrox without his name on the scoresheet.

The brilliance of Allan McGregor, who somehow got a glove to the striker’s first-half shot, denied the visitors. ‘I thought it was in,’ said Griffiths (below). ‘But he is a worldclass goalkeeper. That’s what he brings you — he wins you points.’

Having battled valiantly in Govan before they were reduced to ten men, Celtic know they have to move on from this defeat.

But its greater significance — the day when hope seemed to disappear in their quest to win ten in a row — cannot be ignored as well as their form which has proved so costly.

Asked whether it was a missed opportunity, Griffiths added: ‘It was because first half was the best we have played all season. And I don’t think have Rangers have had a shot on target all game.

‘The games at the start of the season have killed us. If we’d been playing like that we wouldn’t be in this position. It’s not just the first-half today, we have been playing really well recently. ‘First half we were unlucky not to be a couple of goals ahead. At half-time we regrouped and went out to play the same way. The red card changed the game.’