Callum McGregor in Celtic ‘trust the process’ rallying cry as he lays out key factor in Rangers plan

Callum McGregor is urging his Celtic teammates to ‘trust the process’ and not lose their cool against Rangers.

The Hoops captain is no stranger to derby day triumph, shown by Ange Postecoglou’s men lifting the Viaplay Cup in February against their bitter rivals thanks to a Kyogo Furuhashi double. McGregor is on the verge of another potential Treble in Glasgow with nine points the advantage for the champions heading in to a crunch Old Firm clash on Saturday.

The Scotland cap says going in to the match he always feels the same but that the key for the squad is to trust in the process that has previously garnered success. To trust in Postecoglou’s system seems to be the 29-year-old’s watchword for Celtic as he urged ‘calm’ in the heat of battle.

He told Celtic TV: “We know it’s a big fixture, we know the importance of the fixture in terms of the supporters and what it means to them, what it means to everyone inside the building and everybody inside the club, but we have to treat the game like any other game in terms of preparation.

“What we do going into the match, it’s always the same and we feel like we have a good template in terms of the training model and the way that we want to play. I think if we can stay calm and bring all of these things to the game, then you have more chance of success than not.

“So it’s just about trusting the process and following that which has got you success previously, and just staying calm and looking forward to the game.”

He added: “In sport, obviously emotion is key, but too much emotion can cloud your judgement, it can cloud what you see on the day, what you see in terms of the pictures on the pitch that we look for in the way that we want to play the games.

“So, of course you have to bring that energy, passion, tempo and all these things in big derby games that you need – competitive edge – all these things that you need.

“You have to stay calm, you have to see the pictures and play the game that we want, how we want the game to look and I feel that when we do that, then that gives you the best chance of success.

“Of course you have to find the right balance of all the competitive stuff, but, in the main you have to be calm, you have to be clear-headed and see what you are trying to achieve on the pitch.”