It was more of a cuddle than a huddle at the end for Callum McGregor but he put his arms around the Celtic squad and gave them a defiant message.
The captain told his men they can’t allow the Treble pain hold back the Hoops in their quest to land the Premiership title.
McGregor refused to gloss over yesterday’s Scottish Cup defeat. The midfielder was desperate to set up a crack at another trophy but he admitted Celts didn’t do enough to shake off their bitter foes.
But he’s also well aware there is still a huge prize at stake with the title on the line and Celtic have come too far to let it slip now.
McGregor said: “This is one of the few times we’ve had a bit of a slap in the face. So it’s important that we show everyone to react in the right way.
“That’s all we can do now. It’s gone.
“You can analyse the game or whatever. But the fact is it doesn’t come back.
“We have to regroup, we’ll talk about it.
“But ultimately, we’re looking at the end of the season and we want to make it a successful season. There’s five games to win the league and that’s what we have to do.
“We have to regroup, go again take the disappointment, we accept it.
“It’s never nice, it feels horrible, I can tell you. In there, everyone was devastated.
“But, we’ve got five games to win the league and that’s where we have to go. We have to go again.
“Harness all the good stuff we’ve done this year and learn from that, take that forward.
“We’ve got a big finish to the end of the season.
“There is only thing guaranteed in football and that’s disappointment. You have to accept it, take it on the chin and show people what you are about – that you’re made of strong stuff.
“We’ve got to show that as a group.
“We have got ourselves in a good position and it’s important we knuckle down.”
McGregor refused to make any excuses. It was a tight encounter against a formidable Rangers side who have shown their pedigree across the continent this season.
But the skipper admitted Celtic were not quite at it. Not quite at the levels they reached when they were the ones celebrating on the back of Old Firm clashes in recent times.
McGregor said: “These are tough games, semi finals going all the way against a good side.
“So you have to be disappointed, of course you are.
“I didn’t think we think we did enough in the game to win it.
“We have to accept that.
“The game was finely balanced. You get yourself in a good position, you might get the second one which would kill the game at that point.
“Two good teams, extra time, not much in it.”
Celtic got off to a slow start and never really got going. Greg Taylor nudged the Hoops ahead midway through the second half when Celtic were enjoying a decent spell.
But they slipped back in to their shells too much to allow Rangers a route back.
And yet there was still an opportunity to finish it. Cameron Carter-Vickers will have spent last night staring at the ceiling after his big chance to end the contest.
The ball dropped at the defender’s feet barely six yards from goal – yet he couldn’t keep his effort down.
The anguish on his face when the ball clattered off the cross bar was only heightened when Scott Arfield pounced to level the match with just 12 minutes to go.
Extra time was a survival of the fittest but it was Celts who looked drained emotionally and physically.
McGregor said: “We didn’t really create that much. The game was obviously tight. Both teams didn’t want to lose. I thought it was more one of those games where both teams are a little bit scared to lose.
“We didn’t really create enough, but we did enough in the game. We could have gone 2-0 and the game’s finished and no-one talks about it.
“But in there we have to address it as well. We feel that we can play better football and take the game a lot more to Rangers than what we did.
“We have to be honest with ourselves in that fact. That’s how we grow as a team and individuals as well.
“We’ll look at that. The manager will certainly demand we really hit the ground running in these next five games.”
McGregor and his side will have a few days to stew on the Hampden woe.
But he knows they can’t be down in the dumps for too long, with a trek up to Dingwall on the horizon at the end of the week.
The finishing line is in sight and this is now time to be leaving the door open when there’s a rejuvenated Gers waiting to pounce.
McGregor said: “Exactly. We have to react in the right way. The next game now is the biggest game and that’s Ross County away.
“We have to go there and get three points and start to tick them off now.”
