LUKE McCOWAN insists the Celtic players must block out the off-the-field noise and continue to focus on events taking place on the pitch.
The champions had to rise above the racket from an unhappy element among the Hoops support in Paisley at the weekend to deliver three points.
It was a no-holds-barred encounter against a St Mirren team that smelled blood, but a breathtaking strike from Callum McGregor deep in stoppage-time got the job done.
With pacesetters Hearts losing 1-0 to Aberdeen at Pittodrie yesterday afternoon, the gap at the Premiership pinnacle is now four points and the champions have a game in hand. The goal from the skipper could turn out to be one of the most crucial strikes of the league campaign.
OUTNUMBERED…Luke McCowan is surrounded by St Mirren players as he tries to find a way through in Celtic’s dramatic last-gasp victory in Paisley.
Interim boss Martin O’Neill, guiding the team to a fourth successive domestic win onside a month following back-to-back losses at Dundee and Tynecastle before Brendan Rodgers’ rapid exit, has already stated fan fury is not helping with the player on the battlefield.
McCowan was introduced to proceedings on Saturday night as a half-time substitute for the ineffective Johnny Kenny and had to drown out the toxicity from the stands.
The midfielder said: “Listen, the players have not got any say or control on what’s happening, but we just need to go and do a job for this club. That’s the main thing.
“And, regardless of how the fans are feeling, regardless of what’s going on with the board and all that kind of stuff, us players need to go and get three points and it’s as black and white as that.
“At the end of the day, that’s what we’re judged on.
“I’m getting passionate about it, but when you play in a big club, that’s what you need to do, you need to block out everything. Even if you start the game slow, or start the league slow and nothing’s going on with the board, you’re still going to get fans judging you on how you’re playing regardless of that.
“You need to put yourself in that bubble because you want to stay present.”
A BIG HAND…Callum McGregor leads Luke McCowan, Kasper Schmeichel and Auston Trusty as the Celtic players acknowledge the support in Paisley on Saturday night.
McCowan, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “The players need to take a bit of pride in our performances and the qualities we’re showing . You need to keep showing that you’re a top Celtic player.
“I can only speak for myself. Growing up being a Celtic fan, it is actually easy for me to block out the noise.
“I think you get maybe the nervousness from yourself in terms of just playing in general and wanting to win that badly; being desperate to win, being desperate to get the three points.
“I think you’ve just got to try and calm yourself, as we’ve said about Callum McGregor and the message he puts, even the guys who have played here many years before me.
“That’s why Cal leads by example, that’s why some of our other guys lead by example because they stay present, they stay in this situation as in the game.”
The Hoops fly out on Wednesday for the Europa League clash against Feyenoord in Rotterdam the following evening.
Following the 3-1 stumble against FC Midtjylland in Denmark earlier this month – O’Neill’s only reverse in five outings – another victory would be well received.
McCowan added: “You go again, you deal with that, you go as a team, you go as a club together, you go to the game, so you try and stick together.”
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