CALLUM McGregor has described Celtic’s agonising defeat to Rangers earlier this month as “a good one” – because it drove home to the Scottish champions how painful losing can be and provoked a positive reaction.
McGregor was devastated when Brendan Rodgers’ side slumped to an excruciating 3-0 reverse to Philippe Clement’s team in a William Hill Premiership match at Ibrox a fortnight ago.
It was the first competitive league match the Glasgow giants had lost to their city rivals in nearly three-and-a-half years and the first domestic fixture they had failed to draw or triumph in since Hearts beat them 2-0 at Tynecastle in March.
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However, the Parkhead club’s captain has been pleased with the response to the result – Celtic have recorded consecutive wins over St Mirren, Dundee United and Ross County since and increased their advantage at the top of the table.
McGregor, who is set to return to action in a Premiership match against Dundee at Dens Park tomorrow evening, is confident that no complacency will creep into his side’s play in the coming weeks despite their comfortable lead.
“The reaction’s been superb in the three games since,” he said. “There’s been a lot of goals. The team’s playing well. There is nice consistency and fluidity in the team again.
“Obviously, it was a sore one for us, but we had to dust ourselves down. We had a game really quickly after that. The boys have spoken about the demands that we want to put on each other and the last three games have been excellent.
McGregor added: “Of course it can be difficult, but probably the Rangers one was actually a good one, just to refocus the group and make you realise that when you lose a game it hurts you.
“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. That’s what’s good about this group. They understand it and they know what the expectation level is. So it doesn’t really matter how far in front we are or whatever.
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“We want to now, 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. We want to just continue strong and keep pushing.
“It’s the same every year. It’s how you react. Once you’ve had a bad setback, then get back on the horse, go again, do everything you can to make sure the next one’s a positive experience.
“The boys have been fantastic. Driven by a lot of good players, we know what the level is. We dropped below that for Rangers. So it’s up to us to show that reaction and get back on the horse and keep winning football matches.”
