“Now the lads realise”; Callum McGregor addresses cup defeat with ‘reminder’ to Celtic squad

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It’s going to be a long week ahead for Celtic and fans as the realisation that the team have already relinquished a trophy so early on into the new season sinks in.

For experienced players like Callum McGregor, this will sting more. The Celtic captain is used to that winning feeling and being knocked out of the cup will undoubtedly hurt.

But for the new recruits, they will now understand what it’s like to represent Celtic and what the demands are every time they pull on those green and white hoops.

And the Celtic captain has issued a reminder to his teammates that simply turning up does not guarantee that they will win football matches.

McGregor said [Celtic YouTube], “We’re not going to make excuses for the pitch being dry and all these things.  We came here last year and won 4-0 and showed enough quality.

“It just shows that you have to be at the level every time. We speak about this leading into cup games. The record over so many years now has been very good.

“But that’s because you turn up and you play and you don’t get any second chances. And now the lads realise that in cup competitions you have to be on the money regardless of where you go, what stadium it is what opponent it is. You have to find a way to win the game.

“So that is a reminder to the group that you can’t just turn up and expect to win games of football.”

If we can turn anything positive from this Celtic defeat it is that now the players do understand what it’s like to represent this club.

Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that this defeat happened now and not in two weeks’ time when Celtic go to Ibrox and face Rangers.

Because if the team turned out a performance like they did today at Ibrox, then there would be no forgiveness from the Celtic support.

Let’s hope McGregor’s reminder to his Celtic teammates sinks in and we see a stark improvement against St Johnstone at Celtic Park next weekend.

In other news, Chris Sutton reacts to League Cup disappointment with blunt verdict on Celtic squad