CALLUM McGREGOR has explained his call for an impromptu huddle at the end of the 6-0 romp against Dundee at Parkhead on Sunday.
The Celtic captain gathered the players around him for a quick pep talk as the 24,500 fans in the stadium applauded a superb show by the Hoops in which Kyogo Furuhashi thumped in a splendid hat-trick and Tom Rogic, Anthony Ralston and Odsonne Edouard, with a later penalty-kick, joined in.
It was the team’s first league home game of the season and it was also their first Premiership match in Glasgow where supporters were allowed into the stadium since the 5-0 victory over St Mirren on March 7 last year.
McGregor, who took over as skipper when long-serving onfield leader Scott Brown departed for Aberdeen in the summer, said: “What I said to the players will remain private, but it is just good to show the togetherness.
A BIG HAND…Callum McGregor applauds the fans after Sunday’s 6-0 win over Dundee.
“A lot of new players were experiencing Celtic Park for the first time in a league match, a good performance, a good result.
“It is just important that they feel the importance of winning at Celtic Park in style and we just continue to work ever so hard in training, we perform as best as we possibly can in games and we try to send the supporters home happy every week if we possibly can.
“But, like I said, it was just a show of togetherness. We always thank the fans for their support, win, lose or draw and we will always do that.”
Jablonec are next up tonight in the second leg of the Europa League qualifier where the Hoops are 4-2 ahead after last week’s first leg in the Czech Republic and are aiming to cement a place in the play-off final with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
A capacity crowd will be in attendance and McGregor, speaking to the club website, added: “We absolutely desperate and ready to go and we can’t wait to have a full house back.
“We understand that, in football, anything can happen, so we’re super focused, we’re respectful of the opposition, as we always are.
“We’ve looked at last week’s game as to where we can be better and where we can hurt them again, so there’s no complacency whatsoever going into the game.
“We want to enjoy it, enjoy the atmosphere, give the supporters a right good performance and finish the job and get into the next round.”
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