CALLUM McGREGOR reckons it’s full speed ahead for Celtic in their persistent pursuit of a fourth successive title and their thirteenth crown in 14 years.
Brendan Rodgers’ champions had to step on the gas again in their 4-1 win over a dogged and in-form Ross County at frostbound Dingwall at the weekend.
The Hoops were momentarily knocked out of their stride as the Highlanders nullified Kyogo Furuhashi’s opening goal when Jordan White arrowed in an unstoppable penalty-kick past Kasper Schmeichel after the turnaround.
HOOPY DAYS…Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates heading Celtic into a 2-1 lead in Dingwall.
McGregor and Co realised they would have to offer a high-tempo response as they have done throughout the campaign and three late goals obliterated the opposition and made certain the title kings were disappearing into the horizon as the championship silverware looms.
Celtic are 15 points ahead as they prepare for tomorrow night’s visit to take on Dundee at Dens Park where they can restore their 18-point advantage before under-pressure Philippe Clement’s strugglers host Aberdeen 24 hours later in the midst of angry fan protests in Govan.
Skipper supreme McGregor is focusing totally on his side’s qualities as he reflected on the 4-1 victory over Don Cowie’s team where Kyogo claimed a double, Arne Engels, with a twice-taken penalty-kick, and Luke McCowan hit the strikes on a chilly afternoon in the frozen north.
The influential midfielder said: “We got the goal to go ahead and then probably the last five minutes perfectly encapsulates what we are.
THAT’S OUR BHOY…Callum McGregor looks on as Yang Hyun-jun congratulates Kyogo Furuhashi on completing his double in the 4-1 win over Ross County.
“We are relentless right to the end and we scored goals in the last couple of minutes. So, it’s really pleasing again.
“It’s another one we’ve just got to tick off. It was challenging conditions, but we were really good value for the win.
“When it went 1-1, we probably didn’t deserve the goal against us, but that can happen.
“The reaction was superb. The boys flipped the tempo. We flipped the switch a wee bit and started to speed up the game again.”
Questions were asked of the Hoops after a dire display at Ibrox in the first game of 2025, but McGregor the players have got back on track immediately and, speaking to the Scottish Sun, continued: “The reaction has been superb — three games, a lot of goals and the team is playing well.
“There’s been nice consistency and fluidity in the team again.
“We spoke about it and obviously it was a sore one for us, but we had to dust ourselves down. We had a game really quickly after that.
THE WAY AHEAD…Callum McGregor in command in Dingwall.
“The boys have spoken about the demands we want to put on each other and the last three games have been excellent, so it’s been a really good response from everyone.
“Now we have to keep doing that every time we play, every time we train.”
McGregor added: “It doesn’t matter how far ahead you are or how well you’ve done previously, when you lose a game of football, it hurts.
“And that’s what’s good about this group. They understand that and they know what the expectation level is here.
“We want to win every single game, try and give the maximum level that we can and then just see where we get to at the end of the season.”
Dundee, be warned!