Interim manager Martin O’Neill admitted after the 1-0 weekend win that fan fury isn’t helping the unit on the pitch
Celtic captain Callum McGregor celebrates with Luke McCowan
Laser-focused Luke McCowan is adamant Celtic must be bubble Bhoys and block-out the chaotic off-field noise engulfing the club.
Callum McGregor’s brilliant injury-time winner against St Mirren at the weekend ensured happiness on the park with a vital win.
But, off the pitch, brutal disharmony between the support and club chiefs is at epic levels with an AGM abandoned prior to Paisley due to the civil war.
Interim manager Martin O’Neill admitted after the 1-0 weekend win that fan fury isn’t helping the unit on the pitch. McCowan is fully aware of the situation, but also clear the squad simply cannot afford to be distracted from their missions and must keep outside factors at bay.
Asked about going into a bubble mentality, he said: “Aye, I mean, you have to. I think, regardless, as I said, it’s a massive, massive club. “Listen, the players, we’ve not got any say or control on what’s happening, but we just need to go and do a job for this club and that’s the main thing that we need to do.
“And, regardless of how the fans are feeling, regardless of what’s going on with the board and all that kind of stuff, us players need to go and get three points and it’s as black and white as that.
“I’ll always say it, that’s what we need to do and that’s, at the end of the day, what we’re judged on. I mean, if we have a bad performance, it’s: Those players weren’t good enough the day, regardless of what’s going on.
“I’m getting passionate about it, but when you play in a big club, that’s what you need to do, you need to block out everything, regardless of even nothing’s going on. Because even if you start the game slow, or start the league slow and nothing’s going on with the board, you’re still going to get fans judging you on how you’re playing regardless of that, so you need to put yourself in that bubble because you want to stay present.”
McCowan has family and pals steeped in Celtic and said: “I hear it constantly, aye. 24-7. That’s all we talk about. Day-in, day-out, every single day, that’s probably why I hang about in the house myself! But no, every family gathering, we’ve had a few birthdays, we go Sundays, whatever, my whole family talks about it, but it’s just about staying out of it. You’ve just got to try and keep yourself in that bubble.
“It’s us players need to take a bit of pride in our performances and the qualities we’re showing and that’s probably why we’re hammering that message of: You need to keep showing that you’re a top-Celtic player.
Celtic find a way to win
“I can only speak for myself. As you know, obviously, growing up being a Celtic fan and that, it is actually easy for me to block out the noise.
“I think you get maybe the nervousness from yourself in terms of just playing in general and wanting to win that badly.
“Being desperate to win, being desperate to get the three points, probably because of the slow start in the league as well.
“But as soon as that desperate starts, I think you’ve just got to try and calm yourself, as we’ve said about Cal [McGregor] and the message he puts, even the guys who have played here many years before me. And I’ve just got to try and add onto that and kind of put on that message that we need to keep doing that. That’s why he [McGregor] leads by example, that’s why some of our other guys lead by example because they stay present, they stay in this situation as in the game.
“You want to stay in that and that’s the only way that you go forward is by taking those moments, dealing with them onto the next. So you go on to Thursday, you deal with that, you go as a team, you go as a club together, you go to the game, so you try and stick together.”