The levels Celtic have reached this season made Ange Postecoglou’s side untouchable as champions.
But at Ibrox skipper Callum McGregor says they failed to reach them with an unacceptable Old Firm display. The Hoops captain claimed they just weren’t at it in Govan as Michael Beale’s men swept them aside in the derby. Celtic were a goal behind inside five minutes when Todd Cantwell opened the scoring – and two adrift at the break after John Souttar’s header. Postecoglou expected a reaction in the second period but it didn’t come.
Instead, Fashion Sakala scored a third for Gers who were worthy winners of the season’s last derby. There was little at stake for Celtic in terms of silverware. But McGregor was refusing to take the defeat lightly. He has warned his team-mates against complacency as they go for a domestic Treble, with the Scottish Cup Final against Inverness to come on June 3. And McGregor is adamant that loss to Rangers is a welcome reminder that if they aren’t at their best, they’ll be punished.
The Scotland midfielder said: “We were miles off our usual level. And that’s what happens, you lose this type of game because you’re not quite at the races.
“You give yourself a lot to do. I think they scored at good times in the game which kind of took it away from us. We have to take our medicine, accept that we were poor and didn’t deserve anything out of the game.
"We just didn’t perform. We weren’t quite at the level we normally are and if you turn up and perform like that then you can’t expect anything from the game. I think we found it tough in the game. I don’t think we can shy away from that. We weren’t at that level.
“When you struggle like that the game becomes difficult. We can’t dress it up or make excuses. We weren’t right today and we have to look at that.”
Rangers looked hungrier than Celtic for the victory from early on at Ibrox, even if there was little to play for. With no away fans, Postcolgou’s side couldn’t get going and missed golden opportunities to score through Oh Hyeon-gyu and Matt O’Riley in either half.
With their Old Firm rivals set to revamp their squad during the summer window, McGregor expects Beale’s side to be more competitive when it comes to trophies next term.
He added: “I think home advantage in this fixture always plays a part. They score early, it gives them a lift, it gives the crowd a lift. You make it difficult for yourself. At times we’ve been able to come back from that.
“But we just weren’t at the level. We had a bad day. We didn’t perform to the level we normally do and that’s the result of that. Do I expect Rangers to be stronger next season? Yeah, you expect that from them. That is what this league is, it’s competitive.
“We are always pushing to get better, they are pushing to get better. Every team is going to improve in the summer and we are not immune to that. You see, if you’re not right, if you’re not at the level then that can happen. It is a timely reminder for us.”
Celtic still have plenty to play for with the Scottish Cup Final against Caley Thistle on the horizon, as Postecoglou’s side go for a clean sweep of domestic silverware. Their character and personality under their Australian manager has seen them become champions two years on the spin.
And McGregor insists they’ll need to show those qualities again after the Ibrox defeat. He said: “You don’t suddenly become a bad team.
“We have to recognise we’re the champions, we’ve been good enough over the course of the season to say that we’re champions. We’ve had a bad day today and we have to understand what that means to us as a group and the supporters.
“That’s not acceptable – and we know that. We’ll dust ourselves down and we’ll go again. We’ve still got three games to go in the league plus a big cup final.
“And when that’s done we start all over again from nothing the following season. That’s just a timely reminder of what this fixture means all the time, regardless of the circumstances. It’s about a reaction now from us. What the players are like and then what they are like the next few days in training.
“Then you get a chance to put it right in a game. We still have a lot to play for then next season we start from zero.”
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