CELTIC have had their fair share of plaudits for the way the team has handled the step up to the Champions League, but ultimately, those warm words will provide cold comfort if they fail to make it to the knockout stages of the competition.
That is the view of captain Callum McGregor, who says that Celtic now have to allow their actions to speak louder than those words by adding a ruthless edge to their game, and in turn get the points they will require from the double-header against RB Leipzig.
For McGregor, these games against the Bundesliga outfit will be hugely pivotal as they seek to grasp a qualification spot alongside likely Group F winners Real Madrid.
“Of course they are,” McGregor said.
“When you look at the group now, if you get a positive result [on Wednesday] night then you think of the two home games and it sets you up really well.
“So, we’ve had a bit of glamour at the start – against the reigning holders of the competition – and then you take a breath and think ‘Well, we’re here, we’ve done well, the first and second games are done with, we’ve done well in both, there’s no reason why if we do a lot of good things we can be successful in the group.’
“Hopefully, I’m not just saying it as words, that we can now go and deliver it on the pitch also as a group.
“We feel good about it, but ultimately we’ve now got to now do it on the pitch.”
McGregor understands that the first taste of Champions League football will have been an eye-opener for many of his teammates, but he has been impressed by the way they have handled that step up so far.
“When you play in it for the first time, everything is so much quicker,” he said.
“You have to process information really quickly. Your touch has to be on the money every time you get the ball.
“It’s a real test for players when they first go in, but I think the guys have handled it so well and the gaffer has to take a lot of credit for that as well with the way he sets the team up.
“He makes it really clear. There is no grey area in terms of what you should be doing with or without the ball and that makes the game simple for the players.
“Then they have to bring their quality and personality into the game, but the gaffer has got to take a lot of credit for that in terms of the way he sets the team up.”
McGregor showed his own ruthless streak in order to secure three crucial Premiership points on Saturday against Motherwell, hauling down Ross Tierney as he burst through on Joe Hart in the dying stages of the game to pick up a straight red card.
The Celtic skipper said he had no choice but to do it, and that the points were more important than his resultant suspension for the visit to St Johnstone on Saturday.
“Yes, I did [have to do it],” he said.
“As you turn and you see Welshy, probably not far enough across in terms of being connected to the back four, maybe he gets there, I don’t know. But with two minutes to go you can’t take the chance.
“Somebody puts it in the net and it’s 2-2, you don’t recover with two minutes to go.
“Maybe if it’s 40-50 minutes into the game you take the chance, maybe Joe will save it or something doesn’t come of it and you’ve still got time to recover in the game.
“But with three or four minutes left if he puts it in the net you’ve dropped points and it’s two-each. And you put yourself on the back foot.
“So, it’s a calculated risk and sometimes you have to do that in football, where the team comes first.
“Football’s a team game and you have to sacrifice for the team if you wat to be successful. There will become a moment where a player in every scenario of the season will have to take one for the team.
“That’s where we were at the weekend.
“So, you’ve got to do it and it’s about the team.”
