Callum McGregor did not soften his verdict after Celtic's defeat at Ibrox. As soon as Rangers scored a third goal, he told Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales, "Look, no more goals, we have to just tighten this up". His wider message was harsher than the scoreline alone.

McGregor's verdict on Celtic's performance

Speaking to the BBC, McGregor said, "You saw a team and you saw a team of individuals." He added: "Rangers were a team and we looked like a team of individuals who wanted to do our own thing, play when we got the ball and not necessarily run when we don't have the ball." That was the part of the night he kept coming back to, not the result itself.

The captain also pointed to Celtic's work without the ball. "That's the one thing you can't do when you come here, is not run. You can't defend with six players, it's impossible," he said. McGregor's 6.49 rating in the defeat is a reminder that this was not a case of one player sparing the rest with a strong individual display. He has made only 4 appearances this season, with 367 minutes on the pitch, so this is a captain speaking from a relatively small early-season run.

The response Celtic need this week

McGregor's frustration was not limited to Ibrox. He linked the defeat to Celtic's earlier collapse from a four-goal lead against LASK, saying the club had already lost one big game and then lost another. He also said Celtic arrived at Ibrox on the back of five straight Premiership wins, which makes the collapse look more like a sharp breakdown in one match than a season-long drift.

Rangers' own form also fed into his assessment. They had won three and drawn one of their last five league games before the derby, and they looked like the more coherent side when it mattered. McGregor's own view was that Celtic's standards slipped in the moments where concentration and running off the ball should have held them together.

Celtic's immediate reply comes quickly. They host Ferencvaros on Thursday at 20:00 BST, then face Rangers again next weekend in the Premiership rematch. McGregor has already set the tone for both games: Celtic need a response, and they need it fast.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →