It would be fair to say that a sizeable section of the Rangers support have lost patience with some members of their current squad for their preening on social media amidst a period of mediocrity on the pitch.
The contrast between those players and the likes of Celtic captain Callum McGregor then is stark not only for the contents of their medal collections, but also for the way they live their lives away from the field. Perhaps, the two are related.
There is much of the old school about McGregor. There are no histrionics or bold statements. There is no thirst for Instagram clout. Nothing much else but a relentless focus on being the best professional he can be and helping to deliver success to his football club.
So, he doesn’t see it when a Rangers player might make a comment about how they might in fact be the best team in the country. Or feel the need to post clips of his personal match highlights after a draw.
That, he says, would be a waste of his energy, all of which he is now channelling towards Hampden Park this afternoon.
When asked if he takes motivation from things that rival players may be saying, McGregor said: “I’m not on social media, so I don’t see it.
“We can only focus on what we are doing, and I think the minute you take your eye off the ball, either personally or with what is happening inside the club, then you are too busy worrying about what is going on elsewhere.
“My job is hard enough as it is to deal with what is going on inside our building, and trying to prepare the players and myself and all of these different things.
“So, to be honest, the noise and anything that is published or on social media, that is the reason I’m not on it, because I don’t want to take on any more energy away from what I’m actually trying to do and achieve inside our own club.”
McGregor may be cut off from social media, but not from reality. He can’t avoid the outside world altogether in the lead up to matches such as this afternoon’s, and he is fully aware of just how much the Glasgow rivalry – and coming out on top today – means to his supporters.
“Of course you feel it, and the longer you are at the club, then you feel it [even more] and you feel the importance of these games,” he said.
“With the supporters, it’s hard to get away from it in the lead up to these games. You go and pick up a coffee and it’s all that anyone is talking about, or you go into petrol stations and everything else.
“So, of course you feel the magnitude of the game and what it means to the supporters, but that is what fuels us in terms of trying not to let them down and trying not to let ourselves down or the club down.
“I think once you take it a step too far and when it becomes too emotional, that is when you get problems, so it’s about obviously understanding that yes, maybe this game requires something a little bit more, but it still has to be within the realm of what we are doing, what our process is and how we can affect the game.”
