Greg Taylor on warranted Celtic criticism, starting every game, and transfer links to left-backs

Celtic left-back scored on 32nd appearance of season for club and country in 3-0 win at St Mirren

Celtic's Greg Taylor celebrates with Daizen Maeda after scoring to make it 3-0 over St Mirren. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Celtic left-back Greg Taylor feels there is more to come from his side in the second half of the cinch Premiership season.

The champions went into the winter break with an eight-point lead over Rangers thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over St Mirren on Tuesday. The dominant performance saw Celtic follow up their derby win over Rangers, who have two games on hand on the leaders.

It was a fourth consecutive victory for Celtic and further proof they have bounced back from back-to-back league defeats. Celtic also had both Reo Hatate and Liel Abada in action in Paisley following lay-offs and have the potential to strengthen their squad in the transfer window.

Taylor said: “It was important off the back of a big game to go and show that we can do it again. We know that when we are at it, making the runs and pressing well, that we’re a very difficult team to stop.

“There were moments in games when we probably were not delivering the performances. We got a few results but we weren’t quite hitting the levels we wanted to. We’ve got to that point recently. But I think there’s more growth in the team. Hopefully we can show that in the second part of the season.”

Taylor and Callum McGregor are the only players to have started every game for Celtic so far this season and the Scotland left-back has played 32 times in all for club and country. So the former Kilmarnock player will welcome the chance to reset during the break.

“I’m looking forward it,” he said. “You are playing three games as week for a consistent run now, difficult games.

“It’s been a lot but I’m not going to sit here and complain about getting minutes. I love playing. That will never change. I want to win and I want to play. I wan to be out there helping the team. I’ve loved every minute of playing as much as I have and I hope that continues in the second part of the season.”

Taylor put his hands to his ears in front of the away fans after netting Celtic’s third goal against St Mirren, although he accepts criticism was warranted for the team after losing to Kilmarnock and Hearts on successive weekends.

“You try and block it out as much as you can,” he said. “There has been, of course, a bit of criticism but that can come especially, as I touched on, when you lose two games at this club. It’s not good enough. We understood at that point that we really had to finish the four games that we had strongly and we did.”

Celtic have been linked with several left-backs in the build-up to the transfer window.

“It’s always been the case, hasn’t it? It’s been the same in every transfer window since I signed here,” Taylor said.

“It’s part of being at a big club. There will always be challenges and people breathing down your neck that want to take your jersey.

“Never rest on what you’ve done previously and always try to listen to the coaches and the manager. That normally stands you in good stead.”