Skipper McGregor has admitted his side were unable to control the chaos in the penalty shootout win in the League Cup Final – and is determined to avoid a repeat at Ibrox.
Celtic skipper Callum McGregor has demanded his team mates cut out the derby day ‘chaos’ which almost cost them last month’s League Cup Final.
McGregor will lead the champions out at Ibrox on Thursday for the latest installment of Old Firm mayhem, less than three weeks after getting his hands on the first trophy of the season in a Hampden classic between the feuding neighbours. And he’s clearly still smarting that Rangers were able to take his team to the brink, all the way to a penalty shoot out at the end of a thrilling 3-3 draw.
He said: “It’s fair to say we weren’t at our best in that game, especially in the first half. In the second half we scored three goals and could have probably had more. So, we didn’t play well for 45 minutes and then as the game went on we started to get control of the game.
“It was a bit of a chaotic game where we scored two and then we conceded straight after it, which doesn’t help things. But in cup finals everyone understands that that can happen. There’s so much emotion around the game and it became a bit chaotic.
“From our point of view we want to stop the chaos and try to control the game a bit more. If we take the chaos out of the game then it starts to look a bit more like what we want it to. “
For their part, Rangers are also still smarting from that shoot out heartache – and simmering with resentment over a penalty they should have been awarded in the second half of extra time. But McGregor said: “We get that and understand there’s a lot of chat after these games – what could have been or what might have been.
“But the reality is we went on and delivered and got the trophy. So I think our players deserve a lot of credit for that as well. It is what it is. I think us as players understand how difficult the game was and internally we stood up to the challenge and we got the job done.
“Generally when we go in front in games we can see the game out. Obviously Rangers were pushing in the game as well and they felt good about the game. Us maybe not so much. We probably tried to protect it after we got the third goal which is unlike us as well.
“So the emotion of cup finals is difficult to deal with and when it becomes a wee bit like that – they score, we score, they score, we score – then it can be difficult to manage the game. But I think the ultimate strength of our character was when we needed to find something we did in the penalty shootout.
And McGregor hopes that, by removing the chaos and seizing control of Thursday’s contest, Celtic will also turn the home crowd on their own team. He said: “We know what these games are like. They’re frantic, they’re 100 miles an hour. So if you can settle into the game, find the ball and control the tempo of the game with the ball then when you’re at Ibrox then you can turn the momentum of the game in your favour.
“And ultimately that’s what we’ll try and do. We’ll try to control the game and try to change the atmosphere a little bit.
“We’ve been there many times, including this group of players, and understood what it takes to get success. So everybody’s well equipped for it and it’s now about us. When we step over the line can we deliver that.
