Callum McGregor has revealed why he called an impromptu huddle on the Hampden pitch after Celtic’s Scottish Cup defeat to Rangers.
After losing the semi-final 2-1 in extra-time a fortnight ago, Hoops stars were gathered on the turf by their captain for a talking to, while gutted supporters left the stadium.
But McGregor made the off-the-cuff decision to ensure that the loss wouldn’t linger among a squad on the verge of a domestic double.
He said: “That was one of the few slaps in the face we’ve had as a group. Since September we’ve been pretty much perfect in the league.
“So it was just a case of saying to them, we don’t want this result to drag on – then all of a sudden the whole thing breaks down. I had to make sure the players felt together.
“It was important that we didn’t break off into groups because we had five league games left.”
McGregor has adapted to the role of captain brilliantly after taking over from Scott Brown.
But he admits that in the famous Celtic huddle, it can be difficult to get his message across with so many different nations in the squad.
He said: “Sometimes it can be tough because I have quite a strong Glasgow accent.
“But the Japanese boys are working really hard at learning English.
“Even guys like Liel Abada struggled at first but now can have a really good conversation.
“That’s credit to the players. If you put me in the middle of Japan, I’d have a really tough time.
“If they end up having a strong Glasgow accent, I’ll take credit for that!”
