Callum McGregor: We want to carry the crowd with us | OneFootball

Celtic Park was made to capture the aura of UEFA Champions League nights, and, tomorrow night (Wednesday), the spine-tingling anthem will reverberate around the stadium bowl yet again as the Scottish champions take on their Swiss counterparts.

And when the roars of 60,000 rise to drown out the stirring refrain as it comes to a crescendo, the players will know exactly why they are wearing the green and white Hoops.

Among their number is Callum McGregor, and the skipper knows more than most about pulling on the Hoops whether on a domestic weekend or on the continental high of a European date.

He made his Celtic debut in Europe, he made his 100th European appearance in the recent game against Dinamo Zagreb, and, all going well, he should make his 500th Hoops appearance in Celtic’s next European date against Aston Villa at the end of the month.

The past and the future mean little right now, though, the only thing on his mind is the job against YB Bern and he said ahead of the game: “Obviously it’s a big game and we know what’s at stake, and when these Champions League nights come around, you’ve got to do everything you can to make sure that you win them and have a positive experience, and if we do that, then we know what lies ahead.

“It’s a brilliant incentive, the players know that and they are happy to take that responsibility, and it’s down to us to come and give a performance that merits that, get the crowd involved in the game and make it a really difficult night.

“So, we know we are playing against a good side, good physicality at this level, their stats and their numbers are up there as well, so we know it will be a physical game. But we also know that we’re a good side as well and we can play football.

“We’ve proved that in the home games and some of the away games as well at this level, so, we’ve just got to bring it all together tomorrow night and hopefully we’ll have a good night.

“So, it’s now down to the players to prove that, and hopefully we can do that tomorrow night.”

There’s been a difference to Celtic’s approach in Europe of late that has delivered telling displays as well as positive results compared to previous European campaigns.

The skipper said when asked about the change: “There’s been a wee bit more maturity in the performances, I think we are defending better against the ball, we’re more compact, we understand that we can’t always be the aggressor in the game, we can’t always chase the game.

“You are playing against good sides with good players that can hurt you, so sometimes you have to take your medicine a little bit and wait on the game, wait on your moment in the game, so I feel like we’re playing with a bit more maturity.

“And in the profile of the side there’s so much speed and quality that in those moments when we turn the ball over, we can go forward with one pass, and be a real threat in the game as well.”

The massed Celtic support have played their part in that as well, and when asked if he had a message for the crowd on the night, the skipper said: “I think the message is more for us, to be honest, we have to get the crowd involved in the game, we have to give them a performance level that makes them get behind the team.

“When the game starts they’ll be there as they always are with big expectation, big numbers, big noise, but it’s then up to us to carry them with us and give them a performance that they want to back, and then we can have a really positive experience and hopefully we can go on and win the game.”

Watch the full video to hear the captain on:

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