McGregor will heed warning from Ibrox

CELTIC captain Callum McGregor has told his Parkhead team-mates that they really need to use their Ibrox humbling as a reminder of what can happen if they take their eyes off the ball.

Ange Postecoglou’s side went down 3-0 at Ibrox in the final Old Firm game of the campaign and, even though it was a dead rubber with the title having been sewn up officially last weekend, McGregor insists it should be considered a warning signal that Michael Beale’s side will bounce back stronger after the summer.

‘We were miles off our usual level,’ conceded the 29-year-old (below). ‘And that’s what happens, you lose this type of game because you’re not quite at the races.

‘You give yourself a lot to do. I think they scored at good times in the game, which kind of took the game away from us. But we have to take our medicine and accept that we were poor and didn’t deserve anything.

‘To us as a group and for the supporters, that is not acceptable.

‘We will dust ourselves down. We’ve still got three games to go in the league then a big cup final and, when that is done, we start all over again from nothing again next season.

‘Today was just a timely reminder of what this fixture means all the time regardless.’

Asked if he believed the afternoon’s events offered any indication that Rangers will be more of a force next term, McGregor replied: ‘Yeah, you expect that from them.

‘That is just what the league is. It is competitive. We are always pushing to get better, they are pushing to get better.

‘You see today that, if you are not right, if you are not at the level, then that can happen.’

Manager Postecoglou has built his Celtic set-up around being relentless and playing hard until the death and reported himself most disappointed by the fact he believed his players effectively gave up during the second half and accepted defeat.

‘I think we found it tough in the game,’ reflected McGregor. ‘I don’t think we can shy away from that.

‘Every football game, positive or negative, you always look at the reaction — what the players are like and then what they are like the next few days in training.

‘Then you get a chance to put it right in a game, so it is about the reaction between now and the end of the season.

‘We have been really good at that in the past. There is a positive in that, in that we can learn from it.’