Celtic midfielder David Turnbull has opened up on the ‘positive’ dressing room reaction to the Hoops midweek defeat against Real Madrid.
On Tuesday evening, the Bhoys kicked their UEFA Champions League group stages off with a bang, facing the current holders of the competition.
Going into the game, supporters were expecting a tough match-up. But after a brilliant start to the season, there was also some hope about taking on the Spanish giants.
Celtic put in a spirited performance on the night, taking the game to Real Madrid, enjoying spells of possession and coming desperately close to opening the scoring on several occasions.
Although the Hoops ended up losing 3-0, supporters’ reaction told you all you needed to know about the performance and fans were proud of the efforts put in by the players.
According to Celtic midfielder David Turnbull, Ange Postecoglou’s squad also didn’t let the scoreline get them down, and they came away with a positive mindset despite the disappointment.
The Bhoys showed that they can compete with the very best, and that is something that Turnbull and his teammates will look to carry over to every game from now on.
He said [Daily Record]: “The response at the end of the game in the dressing room was positive. We want to compete against these teams, and we did that against Real Madrid in spells. It is now about doing that for the 90 minutes. But everybody is fine.
“We will just dust ourselves down and get on with it. You saw it the other week. We made nine changes in the team, and we still got the victory we wanted.
“We know how Livingston play; they are always tough to play against. It is about going into that, playing our own game and getting another three points.”
Positive dressing room atmosphere shows Celtic will look to learn from Real Madrid defeat
Of course, it is easy to get disappointed from losing by a three-goal margin and opening up our group stage return with a defeat.
However, when you take a closer look at the context behind Tuesday night’s game, there will be a lot of positives Ange Postecoglou can take.
I am sure the Celtic boss will still be frustrated that his side couldn’t take a huge European scalp. But, at the same time, they put in one hell of a performance for large spells in the game.
Having put in that level of performance and not come away with anything, there will be plenty that the Celtic players can take away and learn from that.
With the squad still remaining positive, it is a good sign that the players are ready to learn from Tuesday’s disappointment and use that to their advantage in future Champions League games.
That could prove valuable for Ange Postecoglou’s side going into the next five European fixtures, where the Hoops will hope to lay down their marker on the group.
In other news, SFA and SPFL in talks regarding potential Celtic postponement this weekend,
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
