The Hoops captain wants his side to snap out of the shoddy form that’s seen Celts lose four times in 2025 already
Celtic captain Callum McGregor
Callum McGregor insists the Celtic squad needs to give themselves a SHAKE to seal the Premiership title in style.
The Hoops captain is on board with Brendan Rodgers after the boss blasted his players for getting too comfortable as they slumped to a fourth league loss in 2025 in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone.
The Irishman let rip – although McGregor was spared criticism – and admitted he’s seen the warning signs in recent weeks as he warned against stumbling over the finishing line.
Celts still have a huge 13 point lead at the summit over rivals Rangers and need just two more wins to confirm Four-in-a-Row.
But McGregor insisted he will rally his troops for the big finale. He said: “We have to shake out of it.
“Football’s got a funny way of keeping you honest, everybody is talking, you hear the noise of when are you going to win the league, we have to perform to make sure that we get over the line.
“We’ve put ourselves in an unbelievable position with so many games to go.
Celtic captain Callum McGregor
“People then start thinking it’s inevitable that you’re just going to turn up and it’s going to happen and that’s the bit where we give away the goal and then because of the way the game turns out, then that’s the way it looks and it’s not a good look.
“So we have to snap out of that straight away. And next week we have to perform better for 90 minutes, get the win, and then see where that takes us.
“It’s difficult to get over the line when you’re so close and obviously the points difference is, there’s a fair margin in it, but we then still have to be doing everything we can to sprint over the line rather than just waiting for it to happen.”
Celtic are close to sealing the deal but McGregor warned there is still work to be done.
The Hoops are also chasing the Scottish Cup – where they will be up against a St Johnstone side at Hampden who will be flying after taking Celts’ scalp on Sunday.
McGregor said: “A hundred percent, a hundred percent and that’s the bit, like I’m saying, football keeps you honest because it’s inevitable, the noise, some of it will probably seep in.
“But it’s our job to try and make sure that that we are professional and we do the job that’s in front of us and then we can enjoy it once we’ve actually crossed the line
“But there’s still a lot of football to be played. There’s a tough semi-final. You see that on Sunday. It’s the perfect example.
“So if we’re going to take anything from the game, then we have to be razor sharp in the next five, six, seven weeks to make sure we end up where we think we will, but we have got to do that.”
Callum McGregor
Celtic have lost early goals in all four defeats in 2025 – twice to Rangers, at Easter Road and again at the weekend. And McGregor has warned they need to cut out the slow starts.
He said: “It’s the same message all the time, we’re trying to drill that into the players and the team all the time that you have to start games well, if you give teams a head start then the plan from them for the next 75 minutes.
“When you don’t start well, then, the idea of the game becomes a little bit cloudy and that’s when we are at our best when we are calm, play the system, we’re attacking the right spaces.
“But when you go one down so early, you’re then chasing it, especially at this time of the year when there’s so much at stake. We have to cut out those little bits, which make the game easier for us.”