McGregor: Celtic dominance has not watered down Old Firm

Celtic captain Callum McGregor has said that his team are as hungry as ever to win the Old Firm derby on Thursday, despite their prolonged dominance in the fixture.

Brendan Rodgers’ side go to Ibrox with a lead of 14 points over second-placed Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, who have gone seven Old Firm games without a victory.

Celtic also beat Rangers in both of the major domestic cup finals in 2024, while their only defeat to their city rivals in the last 14 meetings came after they had already won the league title in 2023.

“We want to win every game, especially when the big ones come around. You want to win them as well,” said McGregor.

“That’s where you’re judged. You’re judged on these games, you’re judged on the success rate of these games.

“That’s where we want to be as a squad when we arrive into the big moments.

“I keep saying this to the players, it has to become normal for us to arrive in big moments and deliver and perform. Thursday is just another test for us.”

Celtic were pushed all the way by Rangers in December’s Scottish League Cup final, which ended 3-3 before Celtic won 5-4 on penalties.

They come into this match in fine form as well, having netted eight goals in their last two matches, while they are on an 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

“Every day is an opportunity to get better, so we’ve had a really successful 2024, and I think we can have a really successful 2025, and obviously that starts on the 2nd.”

Skipper looking for more of the same in 2025 kick-off #RANCEL | #CelticFC

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 1, 2025

“Generally, the way that we want to play is the same every week and just adding layers all the time,” said McGregor.

The midfielder added: “So, we’ll look at the game and see where we can be better, see where we can maybe exploit that sort of mid-pitch block from Rangers and see the combinations that we need to get through that bit of the pitch and try and cause some problems.”

When asked whether the respective league positions of the clubs – and the gap between them – will have a bearing on Thursday’s game, McGregor suggested it would not.

“No, never,” he said. “It’s a derby game. You want to win. So, regardless of where the standings are on the table, everybody wants to win. We want to win.

“Rangers will want to win. Both sets of supporters will want to win. So, there’s always everything on these games.”