'Happier place': Celtic skipper pleads with fans to show unity amid candid confession on team's patchy form
Celtic captain Callum McGregor admits the team are struggling to hit top form at the moment.
Celtic captain Callum McGregor has pleaded with the club’s fans to stay united behind them after admitting he and his teammates are struggling to find their rhythm in the opening weeks of the new season.
A flat performance from Brendan Rodgers’ side resulted in them falling to a 2-0 home defeat to Braga in the Europa League on Thursday, the fifth time in the last nine games that they’ve drawn a blank, with a section of the Celtic fans booing the team off at the final whistle.
“You spend so much time without the ball, and then when you get it, you can't quite get yourself back into the game,” said McGregor. “In the second half, we changed that a little bit, got a little bit more aggressive in terms of positioning. For the majority of the second-half we were okay, we were good.
“Obviously, we created some decent opportunities. I don't think anyone thinks it's handball at the disallowed goal. So, a poor decision there at a vital time in the game. If we score that then I believe we'll go on and win the game. It's a tough one in that sense, but in the second-half we do enough to get back in the game.
“But overall, we weren't good enough on the night, really, to deserve to win. In the first-half we gave ourselves a mountain to climb. We started the game okay, to be fair, then we lost the ball, and that sort of rocked us until half-time. I think we have to get through the league phase into the knockout phase. I think that's obvious.
“We certainly have enough quality to do it. It's now on the players to make it happen. We'll continue to work as hard as we ever do to make sure that things start to fall for us and it goes the right way. There's still a lot of football to be played. There's still six games to go. As much as you play well for parts of the game, it's not what's required. We have to win games of football games and we have to play well. I think the guys are working that out quickly as well, to be honest.
Under fire from large sections of the Celtic fanbase, a perceived failure to back the manager in the summer transfer window has caused discontent with Hoops supporters, and a planned silent protest against the club’s board was postponed just hours before the game against Braga.
With the champions’ board agreeing to meet with the newly-formed Celtic Fan Collective over supporters’ concerns, and McGregor admits the disillusionment isn’t helping the team on the park, and wants the supporters to get Parkhead rocking again in order to come through the club’s recent sticky patch.
“Our job is to keep working hard, keep trying to implement what the manager is asking us to do,” said McGregor. “Try and get slicker in the football, everything getting quicker and more efficient in what we're trying to do. I've been here long enough and I know what it takes to be successful. We'll get there and it's our job to make sure we do.
“I think that's the one thing that we need is everyone united, everyone pushing in the one direction. When this place gets rocking then it's the best place to play football and it certainly gives the players a lift as well. Hopefully we can find a solution and everyone on the same page and get the team back winning games and make it a happier place.”
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