CALLUM McGREGOR has told his Celtic team-mates they must keep calm in the intense heat of battle at Ibrox tomorrow afternoon.
The Hoops skipper believes the influence of 74-year-old manager Martin O’Neill will help the champions in their bid to reach the Premier Sports League Cup semi-final.
The pressure has been ramped up all week for an encounter where victory means so much to both clubs.
The Parkhead outfit knocked their city rivals out of both domestic Cups last season with veteran team chief O’Neill in charge on both occasions over his two spells in interim charge.
SMILES BETTER…Callum McGregor celebrates his goal in last season’s 3-1 League Cup semi-final victory over the Ibrox side with James Forrest, Arne Engels and Callum Osmand among those joining in.
In between the Irishman’s stints on the touchline, Wilfried Nancy endured a calamitous 33-day short-lived career as manager in which he suffered six defeats in eight games before getting the boot.
O’Neill had been in control when the teams met in the League Cup semi-final in November and triumphed 3-1 after extra-time.
McGregor played a captain’s part by rifling in the second goal after Johnny Kenny had claimed the opener and Callum Osmand hit the killer third late on.
The Hoops had to rely on penalty-kicks in the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox in March following a goalless draw following two hours of action.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Auston Trusty, Reo Hatate and Tomas Cvancara produced excellent spot-kicks while the hosts missed two with the Hoops winning through 4-2 on penalties.
McGregor is looking forward to another all-Glasgow encounter and said: “A unique game, unique circumstances, obviously winner takes all, so you need to do a lot right.
“It’s Cup football, regardless of the opponent, you need to turn up and do everything you can to win the game.
“We know that, we know it’s played to a finish and we have to go there and impose our style and tempo on the game, be as aggressive as we can be and, hopefully, we’ll finish with the result we want.”
MAN ON A MISSION…Celtic skipper Callum McGregor knows what is expected in the Premier Sports League Cup quarter-final at Ibrox tomorrow.
Celtic will be travelling across the city to a venue where there will be none of their fans and McGregor, speaking to CelticPlayer, continued: “Obviously, we’re disappointed that we don’t have any supporters in.
“But they can rest assured that the players know what the game means, they know what it means to them and to the football club.
“So, we go there with everything to try and win the game.”
The infuential 33-year-old midfielder praised boss O’Neill and added: “He’s a man of huge experience, managed many, many big games.
“He brings that calmness, and generally in the bigger moments, you need to be calm and be less emotional.
“And give the players the confidence to go and carry out the game plan that we want.”
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