CALLUM McGREGOR has come out swinging as Celtic prepare to get into the Ibrox ring for tomorrow’s must-win High Noon showdown.
The champions’ captain has hit back at the critics he believes are trying to break the Hoops.
And McGregor is determined to have the final say with a victory in Govan that will see Martin O’Neill’s side go a point ahead of Danny Rohl’s side with a crucial game in hand.
If the dominoes fall as hoped, the Parkhead club face the possibility of being four points ahead by the time the full-time whistle shrills at Pittodrie on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old influential onfield leader said: “Everyone is trying to doubt us. Everybody’s trying to see if they can break you.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES…Callum McGregor patrols the midfield in Celtic’s scoreless stalemate at Ibrox in August.
“We have to stand together and try to fight against that. And if we can come out on the right end of it, then what a message that shows everyone.
“That’s my message to everyone. It’s certainly my message to the players.
“It’s almost like a siege mentality for us.
“There’s been a lot of conversation and chat about it. Not so much with the players, but you feel it in your everyday life.
“You’re not silly. You understand where the club is and the context and everything that’s happening.
“We as professionals have this burning desire to win. If you think we can’t do it, then we’ll show you we can.
“As a club, we have to try to rally this next 12 or 14 games, whatever it ends up being.
“Can we be the guys standing with the trophies at the end of the season and saying: ‘Well, you tried to break us and you couldn’t.’?
“That’s where we are as players and staff. That’s the challenge that the players are well aware of.
“And that’s where we want to be.”
HIGH-POWERED CHAT…manager Martin O’Neill and skipper Callum McGregor after Celtic’s 3-1 Premier Sports League Cup semi-final over Danny Rohl’s side at Hampden in November.
McGregor, speaking to the Scottish Sun, continued: “Since Martin O’Neill has come in, we’ve actually done a lot of good. You’re kind of fighting against everything else on the outside.
“But when you come into your building, I see a group of people who are not broken, who are up for the fight, who are actually playing some good stuff.
“You’re just fighting against everything else external. The bit for the players is to try to block that out, not listen to it because it’s not actually real.
“What happens here every day is what’s real.
“When Martin and Shaun Maloney have come in, more times than not, we’ve won a lot of games.
“We’ve gone to places like Stuttgart and won. We’ve beaten Feyenoord, drawn with Bologna.
“A lot has been made about the external noise. But actually, when you come inside, it’s pretty good.
“We just need to channel the good stuff and fly into these next 12 games or so and, hopefully, we can be successful.”
The club’s fifth successive title remains a priority and McGregor added: “We’ve been so bad that we’re only three points off! Really, that’s where we are.
“We saw a stat the other day. In 12 games under Martin and Shaun, we’ve actually accumulated the most points.
“There’s the other narrative. Throw that one out there, that since these guys have come in, we’ve been the better team.
“Everything else, all the noise, is for everyone else to talk about.
JOY BHOYS…Callum McGregor celebrates his extra-time goal at Hampden against the Ibrox outfit with a little help from James Forrest and Co.
“We zone in on what we can do and what we can affect and then we’ll see what the outcome is.
“Last week against Hibs, we lost. The red card for Auston Trusty is a really bad decision and it kills you with 20 minutes to go. It’s been that type of season where, if you draw the game, it’s probably a good result.
“But you lose it in the last couple of minutes, which takes the sting out of anything good that did happen in the game.
“It’s probably been a season where the small margins have gone against you a little bit.
“But the boys are okay. We know where we are and where we need to be come the end of the season.
“There’s definitely enough quality and mentality in there to make it happen. But now it’s down to the players to go and make it happen.”
This will be the fourth Glasgow derby of a turbulent campaign. O’Neill’s men won 3-1 in extra-time in the Premier Sports League Cup semi-final at Hampden in November.
And there has been a scoreless draw at Ibrox and a 3-1 loss at Parkhead, the final appearance of Wilfried Nancy following his sixth defeat in eight games in 33 disastrous days in charge of the Hoops.
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