CALLUM McGREGOR has opened up on the conflict that has descended upon Celtic this season.
The ill feeling among the frustrated support has seeped into the dressing room and that sad fact can be emphasised with a brief look at the substandard performances from the champions.
Brendan Rodgers’ side stumbled at the first hurdle of the Champions League, eliminated by Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty on penalty-kicks after two awful scoreless displays, and the Hoops now face Sturm Graz in the Europa League at Parkhead on Thursday night.
They go into the confrontation looking for their first win in the competitions at the third time od asking after drawing 1-1 with Red Star in Belgrade and flopping 2-0 at home to Sporting Braga.
Celtic also lost their first league game of the campaign when they nosedived 2-0 to struggling Dundee at Dens Park – a loss that looks like being the last straw for many with the team now five points adrift of Sunday’s opponents Hearts.
THE RECKONING…a clearly disappointed Callum McGregor acknowledges the Celtic support after the embarrassing loss to Dundee at Dens Park.
Assessing the depressing state of affairs, McGregor, the club’s onfield leader, said: “Yeah, I think there’s a lot of disharmony which can make it difficult for a club like this.
“It’s so used to winning and everything’s great when you’re winning games. I think from the outside it looks easy and it’s not easy.
“The reason why we win so many games is because we work so hard. So, really, it’s a double-edged sword.
“When you come to this club, you have to sacrifice everything to be a success, and then you get to enjoy all the good days that have come over the last 15-16 years.
“But it’s not easy and I think periods like this just show that. If you come off the boil slightly, if you’re not quite there and that disharmony is there, then it can be a difficult place to play football.
“Our job in the changing room and in the building is to try and make the team as strong as it possibly can be to then come out and perform on the pitch.
“And I think if we get that bit right, then a lot of the noise will start to go away.”
The 32-year-old influential midfielder, speaking to the Daily Record, went on: “The level of performance, the slickness, the attempts on goal, the goals scored are nowhere near where we want to be.
THE WAY AHEAD…Callum McGregor has a word of advice for a team-mate.
“I’m not saying we have to win every game 4-0 or 5-0, but the level that we have set previously gives everyone that expectation and we don’t want to drop below that.
“So, if we’re defending properly, not giving up chances and creating big chances in the game, then you can say well the team’s on the right track. But, at the minute, it doesn’t look like that.
“We’re giving up too many goals. It’s as simple as that. We’re not counter-pressing the same.
“The second Dundee goal comes from a counter-attack where we’re kind of there, but we’re not really inside the pressure trying to win the ball back.
“In my experience when you come here, there’s always a spell in the game where you have to see it out and I said that to the players before the game.
“It’s a game where you don’t get many chances. We’ve been here so many times, maybe get one, two, three, four chances maximum.
“But when you give yourself 2-0 down off a set-play and a counter-attack then you give yourself so much work to do.
“You think back to the Motherwell game, we’re making the game too difficult.
“We’ve got 20 minutes to go, we have to press the emergency button and then we come to life again.
“But you can’t keep doing that, you have to make the game easier for yourself.”
SCORELESS IN GOVAN…Callum McGregor and Kasper Schmeichel lead the Celtic players in a round of applause after the drab goalless draw at Ibrox in August.
Asked if the faltering Hoops can rise to the double occasion and beat the Austrians and the resurgent Edinburgh club over the next five days, McGregor answered: “We have to and we have to show that we can.
“That’s a challenge for the players and we’ll speak about it.
“Ultimately, we have to do our talking on the pitch. It’s alright me coming out and talking, anyone else coming out and talking, but we have to start showing why we’re a good team and can we be the team that goes on to be the champions.”
McGregor added: “It’s a tough football club to play for. I’ve seen it over the years.
“We’ve been very, very successful, but it’s because of hard work. There’s no shortcut.
“The reason why we’ve been successful is because we’re willing to fight and stick together and be a team.
“It’s time for everyone to step up a level. I’ve still got no doubt that we’re a good team and it will click.
“We just have to click maybe quicker than what it looks like at the minute.”
