Callum McGregor says Celtic will take a “siege mentality” to Ibrox on Saturday to face Rangers without the backing of any Hoops fans.
Ange Postecogou’s side clinched their second successive cinch Premiership title with a 2-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday and are on course this season for the domestic treble.
The final Old Firm league fixture of the season will have home fans only inside the stadium due to “safety and security” reasons, as was the case when the two sides met at Parkhead in April.
The Celtic captain – nominated along with team-mates Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi, and Motherwell striker Kevin van Veen for the PFA Scotland Premiership player of the year award – admitted the champions would travel to Govan with a spring in their step after yet another title win but ready to deal with unusual circumstances.
The Scotland midfielder said: “It is brilliant to go there as champions.
“We did it with four games to spare which is excellent. It shows we have had a really good season.
“It shows that we have had good personality in the group as well and we have to show that, we have to go there and be brave and play our football.
“Obviously in terms of the crowd situation, everyone will be against us.
“We won’t have any supporters in so we have to go in with a siege mentality and understand what the game looks like from that perspective and give everything we can to get a positive result.
“The big challenge is can we go there and get a positive result from the game and that what’s the full focus will be on.”
Celtic are unbeaten in five games against Rangers this season, a record which includes a Viaplay Cup final win and a Scottish Cup semi-final victory.
McGregor admits it is “a big incentive” to go through the campaign without tasting defeat against their Old Firm rivals, who are consigned to second place in the league.
He said: “These games are always important throughout the course of every season. We have been really strong in this fixture up until now.
“We go there as champions with a bit of confidence behind us as well.
“We don’t take for granted how difficult the game is going to be, a full house for them and we have to go and try and impose ourselves on the game.
“Obviously we will take confidence from the results we have had but if we don’t turn up there, don’t perform and don’t give our maximum we can’t expect anything from the game.”
McGregor won the PFA Scotland player of the year award last year and on this season’s nomination he said: “It is always nice to be in the conversation when these individual awards are being handed out, it means you are doing something right and obviously the PFA one is the players’ union and voted by for the players which is always a nice one.
“The fact that we have three players nominated means collectively we have had a very good season and that is the most important thing.”
Two more Celtic players have been nominated for the young player of the year award, with Liel Abada and Matt O’Riley joined by Rangers midfielder Malik Tillman and Charlie Reilly, who scored 24 goals for Albion Rovers despite the Cliftonhill side finishing bottom of League Two.
Shaw reveals how advice from former Man City stalwarts Bronze, Sterling assisted her to settle at the club
After struggling to find her footing when she just arrived at Manchester City, Jamaica international Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw, revealed that it was the advice of Lucy Bronze and Raheem Sterling, coupled with hard work, that assisted in her now being the club's record goalscorer.
Since her transfer from Bordeaux in 2021, Shaw has cemented her status as one of the game’s most clinical strikers during her spell with Gareth Taylor's side so far. In the process, she smashed a number of records, including most goals scored by a Manchester City women’s player in a single season -31 in the 2022-23 campaign -before becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 72 goals overall.
However, she wasn't always confident that she would have accomplished those feats, as she pointed out how guidance from former Manchester City pair Bronze and Sterling put her on the path to history in sky blue, after a difficult early period at the Joie Stadium.
“When I came here initially, I was struggling a bit,” Shaw revealed on The Women's Game Podcast with Sam Mewis.
“One day I was coming in from training and Lucy [Bronze] was coming in as well and she asked, ‘are you okay?’ and I said ‘I just can’t get the way they play, I can’t get it right’. City play a specific type of way and I was saying when we were walking in from training ‘I cannot get this right’. I didn’t know if here was for me.
“She started laughing and she was like ‘you focus on what got you here, the bits you do well that got you here, there’s something they saw in you that got you here’. At that moment I was like ‘wow’. I then called Raheem [Sterling] and I said the same thing to him. He was just laughing and said, ‘when I came from Liverpool I struggled a bit, they play a certain way so trust the process, believe in what you’re doing and believe in yourself’," she added.
From there, the 26-year-old Shaw said she continued to put in the work, both on and off the field until her performances came together.
“I put the comments from both Lucy and Raheem together and it made sense. I told myself to continue working and watching the videos, see how I could improve my game and seeing how best I can help the team. By doing that, it helped a little better day-by-day. Couple of weeks later I called Raheem and said, ‘it’s working!’ He was laughing and said, ‘I told you, you’ve just got to believe in yourself and do all the right things and focus on you first and foremost before you can focus on anything else’," Shaw shared.
Although her 2023/24 campaign was cut short due to a broken foot, Shaw will finish the campaign with 22 goals and five assists. And she credits her sparkling City success to her dedication on the City Football Academy training pitch.
“I just kept at it and believing in myself. The confidence comes from scoring goals and as the games come, I’m thriving," she ended.
Girona 4-2 Barcelona: Hosts secure Champions League football while ending Blaugrana's title hopes
Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 to secure Champions League qualification and gift Real Madrid their 36th LaLiga title.
Madrid, who have lost only once in the league this season, hold a 13-point advantage over second-placed Girona, while Barca dropped to third after Saturday's loss.
The victory saw Girona seal European football for the first time in their history.
A brace from substitute Portu helped LaLiga's surprise package Girona to humble their Catalan rivals.
Andreas Christiansen scored in the third minute to give Barca the lead but Girona hit back a minute later, with LaLiga's top scorer Artem Dovbyk heading in the equaliser.
Robert Lewandowski put the visitors back ahead from the penalty spot just before the break.
However, in his first action after coming off the bench, Portu restored parity before Miguel Gutierrez scored from a rebound two minutes later to turn the match on its head.
And that paved the way for a stunning volley from Portu in the 74th minute to secure the win.
Real Madrid's LaLiga joy must be 'contained' ahead of Bayern meeting
Carlo Ancelotti knows Real Madrid's LaLiga title celebrations must be "contained" as they prepare to take on Bayern Munich.
Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions for a record-extending 36th time on Saturday, after Barcelona lost 4-2 to Girona.
The Blaugrana's defeat followed on from Madrid beating Cadiz 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham and Joselu were on target for Los Blancos, whose coach Ancelotti knows restraint is needed in his team's celebrations, with the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern coming up on Wednesday.
"It's obviously a contained joy, because the most important game of the season is also very close, but we have to be happy," Ancelotti told Movistar Plus+ before the Barca game had been played.
"These games are difficult to prepare for, because you have Wednesday on your mind. But so far it's been spectacular, our team was steady, with hardly any mistakes. The advantage we have is well deserved.
"A big part [of Madrid's success] was achieved when we started to defend better, with a collective commitment.
"The effort put by the players up front was great, but the injuries early in the season helped us to realise that it wasn't about individuals but putting on a collective effort, and we did great."
Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, Ancelotti said: "We are very good. It is the seventh victory in a row in the League, a spectacular one as a whole.
"We are very close to winning it and I think we are going to do it with merit.
"It is a celebration taking into account what has to happen on Wednesday. We are all happy with the match, but let's think about Bayern."
Thibaut Courtois, meanwhile, returned from his long injury lay-off to feature for the first time this season.
Ancelotti added: "Thibaut is a very important piece for this team, although [Andriy] Lunin has had a spectacular season and that is a lot of credit to Andriy. But Courtois has returned very well and was decisive. He is doing very well."
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