McGregor pinpoints Celtic areas for improvement after Kilmarnock loss

What went wrong out there for Celtic?

We didn’t have enough quality. I think that was evident to see. There were too many long passes, we lose our way a little bit in the game when the game becomes desperate and you’re chasing a goal. We started hitting long passes, which is not us. I don’t mean good passes in terms of trying to play in behind, it was just sort of launching the ball and hoping for the best. That’s disappointing, that we don’t stick to the principles that we know work for us. It is a massive reminder that in cup football if you don’t turn up on the day you have absolutely no right to think that you can just come and win games of football. Probably because our cup record has been so good that is what everyone thinks, that you just roll up and it happens. It never happens like that. That’s a reminder for the group, for everyone really, that if you’re not at it you don’t have any right to turn up and win any game of football. Firstly we have to look internally, us as players. Did we do enough? The answer is no. We have to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t snowball into two results, three results, four results. We have to find the answers quickly and find a way to settle this new group of players.

Were you surprised to see the principles abandoned?

Yeah. It is surprising and disappointing at the same time. I think that is maybe what you get with a new group which is just in its infancy. I probably remember back to two years ago at this point, or slightly later, into September, when we lost at Livingston and it was much the same. Now we are at a crossroads in this group as well. We have lost a lot of key players, a lot of big players for us, so we have to find a new team. We have to find a settled team and then go back to the principles that make us a good team. It just shows you that if you don’t stick to that the game because random and that’s what happens. It is a big learning curve for sure.

What can you learn from two years ago?

We stay calm under pressure. That is part and parcel of being at a big club. You will get bad results and it’s how you handle that, how you stand up and be counted in the coming days and weeks. Again, it’s just reinforcing the work we are doing on the training round. Trying to settle everybody as quickly as can, settle into the pattern and the rhythm that we want to play. It’s just repetition in training and trying to find that balance really, really quickly. With this result, we all have to realise that we have to go pretty quickly. It was similar at this point two years ago when we put ourselves under pressure. Now you have to react, you have to find something within yourself and within the team and within the group that sparks us into life. Because that’s what we need to do now.

Would bringing in more experienced players help?

I think we have guys who have been with us long enough now. I think we have enough of a core. Of course, we have some injuries and some big players have left. But that’s part and parcel of football and you have to recycle and find a new team. We now have to do that as quickly as possible. We talk about trying to settle people in but at Celtic, you don’t get that opportunity. You go to Kilmarnock and lose and all of a sudden you’re under pressure. So we have to fix that internally, that’s down to the players, the manager and the staff. As I have said, this is a massive reminder that you don’t have any right to just turn up and win any football match. So we have to learn from this and it has to spark us into life.

How big a role do you have in making sure that heads don't drop?

That’s it, that’s life at a big club. For a lot of them coming in, this is the biggest club they’ve played for and we have to help them, we have to settle them down. Again, it’s the principles of the game and how you want the game to look. Regardless of whether you are winning or losing or drawing you have to stick to that because that’s what we believe brings us success. It’s a learning curve for everybody but certainly, the senior players will be vital in trying to settle the new lads in and trying to find this pattern we want to kick into.

Do you have confidence in this group of players that they can turn it around quickly?

Yeah, we have to. That’s the reality of it. I know that there are a lot of good players in that changing room. The early signs have been decent. We have seen it and we now have to find a way and we’ve got to do it pretty quickly.

Did you fear this was coming?

Not in terms of result, no. We have had it before at the start of a season when we’re not quite at the races or on the money and that’s when the chat starts. When you’re building a new team, with a new manager and a new group then, of course, it’s never going to be slick. Kilmarnock is a tough place to go to as well, which was shown. Other teams will struggle there as well. So it’s about what we do now, the work we do out on the training ground and the players have to have a look at themselves as well. No matter what tactical stuff you do, you have to go out onto the pitch and perform and if you don’t then this is what happens to you. So, did I see it coming? No, but it’s a massive reminder of how far we’ve got to go and to be honest I think we’re humble enough to understand that. I don’t think we expected that we’d just rock up and win a treble just because we did last year. I know that was maybe everybody else’s expectation but it wasn’t the expectation within the group. We know how hard it is to win things and the disappointing factor is that we went to Kilmarnock and didn’t perform. The consequence is that we’re now out of the cup and we’ll now be sitting watching everyone else playing in it. That’s what will hurt us.