Greg Taylor has revealed Celtic held clear-the-air talks in the dressing room after dropping more home points in the title race.
The Hoops fell two points behind Rangers in the title race at the weekend after falling to a costly 1-1 draw against Kilmarnock at Parkhead. Philippe Clement’s side took full advantage less than 24 hours by overcoming St Johnstone to storm into top spot for the first time since August 2022.
Brendan Rodgers’ faltering troops were booed off the pitch as raging fans also vented their fury towards the board, calling for Peter Lawwell to walk. And Taylor admits their anger was heard as his teammates held crisis talks immediately after the final whistle.
“We had a conversation in the changing room after the game,” he stated. It’s crucial to remember that we still have 12 league games left, and we must undoubtedly raise our game in order to advance. Since we’re a team, the coaches, manager, and all of the players discussed after the game that we want to perform at the levels we know we can.
“We all want to give the fans a better performance, and we’re united as one. I feel bad for the fans because they rightfully expect so much more from us, and it is disappointing to lose points. We must maintain perspective because there is still a long way to go—it’s only February. However, we do require a performance standard.”
Considering that Celtic had previously had an eight-point lead over their Old Firm rivals, this is a striking decline in performance. When asked if the club’s recent additions understood what was expected of them, Taylor, however, doesn’t hold that against them.
“The boys HAVE to get it when you have leaders like Callum, Joe, and me,” he remarked. But everyone needs to understand, not just the new guys. The boys who have been here and the boys who have come in are the same. Collectively, everyone must realise that this club expects success and a certain style of play.
“And the supporters are understandably disappointed when you don’t perform at those levels. We seemed to be in control of the first half, in my opinion. All we had to do was wait for that chance, which Kyogo seized. We played the game with good control. However, we lost that control in the later stages, which is disappointing. And it is up to us to try and figure out why that is.
“The players here should be able to handle that; I wouldn’t say it’s because of spectator anxiety. We ought to be able to seize complete control of these games because there is enough experience out there, especially once you score the goal.”
In response to a question about whether there were any loud discussions in the changing room, Taylor said, “It’s probably better just to leave that in the changing room.”
