CALLUM McGREGOR insists Celtic will need to work on their defensive side of the game.
The Hoops toppled out of the Champions League after losing two sloppy goals to Ferencvaros and they face a dodgy trip to Latvia to fface Riga on Thursday in an effort to keep their Europa League hopes alive.
They made life tough for themselves at the weekend when Livingston’s on-loan Monaco defender Jullien Serrana was allowed to score with a long-range drive that beat Vasilis Barkas’ flailing arms above his head.
The champions had a nervy finale before the referee blew for full-time and a 3-2 win that put them on top of the Premiership for 24 hours.
McGregor is adamant the Hoops MUST tighten up.
The Scotland international midfielder, who rattled in a superb equaliser against Livi, told Celtic TV: “The last 15 minutes when they got the goal to bring them back into it at 3-2, we probably made it more difficult than it should have been.
“At the start of the second-half, we looked good and comfortable. We get the third and you maybe fancy us to see it out 3-1 or 4-1, but that’s something we have to really work on in terms of conceding goals.
“We’re conceding too many as a team. Shots from the edge of the box. It’s not really us, we need to work on that.”
McGregor’s spectacular leveller was his 50th goal for the club and he was instrumental in Ryan Christie firing in a quickfire second while Albian Ajeti curled in the winner in the second-half.
He commented: “I took a touch and hit it and sometimes they take a little nick when they go in, which is fine.
“Ryan’s playing with confidence, that’s him got a few goals and assists and we need to keep him fit and firing.
“Albian has shown he’s a brilliant finisher. He lifted it onto the top corner and I’m delighted for him. He’s showing he’s a real marksman.”
As the team prepare for Latvia, McGregor added: “We’ll look at the Livingston game and have to learn from it quickly in terms of conceding goals.
“We have to put everything into the game as we want to get into that play-off spot.”
