Callum McGregor is a sensible young man and today he has articulated a very sensible sentiment.
This time last season I couldn’t see past us sweeping to a treble. I couldn’t see who was going to stand in our way. The Invincibles tag wasn’t just a slogan, it wasn’t just a marketing ploy dreamed up by the club, it was something tangible.
You could feel it in the air. The players felt it whenever they went onto the pitch. They believed in it. They knew they were the best team in the country, that on their game nobody could touch them. And they showed up for business in match after match.
This season there’s been none of that swagger, none of that confidence. The team looks a shadow of the one it did before. When did this happen? I still think it was Europe; I still think the results against PSG were a psychological blow to us which we struggled with and still do. We do not look like a team that you can have complete faith in it at times.
There is a weariness to them that goes beyond tiredness.
Here’s the thing.
These guys know the most important thing there is to know.
Invincible runs are built one game at a time. Getting this team back on track will happen one game at a time. We are due going on an extended run; we haven’t managed it so far in this campaign. How fitting it would be if we had saved the best for last? How good would it be if we went on one now?
Callum says the players and the manager are not thinking any further than the next match, and that’s exactly how it has to be. The team needs to get back to basics and focus on nothing but doing the business on the day or on the night. Once the team has won a couple on the bounce the heads will go up and the swagger will return.
Talk of a treble is a nonsense at the moment.
Last year it was something we expected; this season it’s something we hope for. We need to start playing football the way we can before fans will start to look forward to the possibility. The team will do better not to think of it at all.
Over at Sevco, they win one match and there’s talk about momentum and how they can challenge and other such nonsense.
At Celtic we know momentum is built. It doesn’t just happen with a single victory.
What Callum has said today is that the focus remains laser sharp.
We are off form and we know it … but we know the best way to change that is on the pitch. Talking won’t do it.
That’s good news. That’s what we needed to hear.
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