Callum McGregor speaks candidly about the Celtic dressing room mood ahead of Rangers

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Celtic captain Callum McGregor is no stranger to a derby against Rangers and has approached these matches in a variety of situations.

Thankfully for him and Celtic, the outcome has often been a good one with 19 wins under his belt against the Ibrox side during his time at the Bhoys.

After recent setbacks against Kilmarnock and Hearts, there is undoubtedly more scrutiny on the team and the club in general going into this one.

However, it seems the hurt of those experiences is now fuelling a steely determination within the Celtic dressing room to prove they are better than those performances suggested.

He now wants his teammates to deliver a statement display in the derby.

Callum McGregor on recent Celtic ‘hurt’

The captain said ahead of Saturday’s Rangers match [Daily Record, 30/12 print edition]: “I wouldn’t say anything in public that I wouldn’t say to the players in the dressing room, but what happened a couple of weeks ago hurt.

“It hurt everybody, it hurt us and the supporters. Every time we go on the pitch now, we have to show that hurt, show we’re determined to do it right.

“This is another chance for us to do that and make a statement. But we must do it in every single game between now and the end of the season.

“At times, teams start well and then drop off. Others start slowly and then pick up. I’ve seen it all but when you come to this game, it is always tight, with one or two points in it.

“We aren’t in a different position to what we’ve been in during my time here. The best way to answer is to do what we have been doing. A consistent message of trying to attack and defend together with intensity.”

McGregor is saying the right things and after improved performances against Livingston and Dundee, Celtic are starting to back it up on the pitch once again.

But today is undoubtedly the stiffest domestic test of the season so far – even tougher than the trip to Ibrox in September with Rangers looking improved under Philippe Clement.

This team have a lot of question marks surrounding them but, as McGregor says, the best time to answer those is in this fixture.

In other news, Brendan Rodgers’ latest Celtic transfer message isn’t very encouraging.