Callum McGregor spoke of Celtic being at a “crossroads” following their shock Viaplay Cup exit to Kilmarnock on Sunday.
The Hoops captain did not like what he witnessed from last season’s treble winners at Rugby Park, where Marley Watkins’ second-half goal sparked an unlikely post-mortem into Celtic’s last-16 demise.
Boss Ange Postecoglou left for Tottenham at the end of the season after completing the clean sweep and winger Jota and defender Carl Starfelt have also gone, while returning manager Brendan Rodgers was without Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate and Oh Hyeon-gyu for the trip to Ayrshire.
Rodgers gave a debut to Swedish defender Gustaf Lagerbielke alongside fellow new signing Maik Nawrocki, with a first start for summer recruit Odin Thiago Holm, while another new face, Yang Hyun-jun, came off the bench.
The exit from a cup competition Celtic have won six times in the last seven years stung McGregor, and the Scotland midfielder recalled a 1-0 cinch Premiership defeat at Livingston in September 2021 – a fourth loss in five games under Postecoglou which left them trailing leaders Rangers by four points, before they recovered to win the title and League Cup.
McGregor said: “We didn’t have enough quality. I think that was evident to see. We started hitting long passes, which is not us. I don’t mean good passes in terms of trying to play in behind, it was just sort of launching the ball and hoping for the best.
“That’s disappointing, that we don’t stick to the principles that we know work for us.
“It’s a massive reminder that in cup football if you don’t turn up on the day you have absolutely no right to think that you can just come and win games of football.
“Probably because our cup record has been so good that is what everyone thinks, that you just roll up and it happens. It never happens like that.
“Firstly we have to look internally, us as players. Did we do enough? The answer is no. We have to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t snowball into two results, three results, four results.
“We have to find the answers quickly and find a way to settle this new group of players. I think that is maybe what you get with a new group which is just at its infancy.
“I probably remember back to two years ago at this point, or slightly later, into September, when we lost at Livingston and it was much the same.
“Now we are at a crossroads in this group as well. We have lost a lot of key players, a lot of big players for us, so we have to find a new team.
“We have to find a settled team and then go back to the principles that make us a good team.
“You will get bad results and it’s how you handle that, how you stand up and be counted in the coming days and weeks.
“Again, it’s just reinforcing the work we are doing on the training ground. Trying to settle everybody as quickly as we can, settle into the pattern and the rhythm that we want to play.
“It’s just repetition in training and trying to find that balance really, really quickly.
“With this result we all have to realise that we have to go pretty quickly. It was similar at this point two years ago when we put ourselves under pressure.
“Now you have to react, you have to find something within yourself and within the team and within the group that sparks us into life. Because that’s what we need to do now.”
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Lindstrom joins Everton on loan from Napoli
Everton have completed the loan signing of Jesper Lindstrom from Napoli, the club confirmed on Friday.
Lindstrom will join the Toffees for the 2024-25 season with the deal including an option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign.
The 24-year-old becomes the fourth addition at Goodison Park following the arrivals of Tim Iroegbunam, Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Harrison.
Lindstrom arrives after a difficult season with Napoli, playing just 416 minutes in 22 league appearances for the Serie A side.
The Denmark international arrived in Naples from Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored 14 goals in 80 appearances, helping the German side lift the Europa League in the 2021-22 season.
“I feel very good. It’s amazing to represent Everton," Lindstrom said in his first interview with the club.
"This is a big club, with big history, a good stadium and, as I’ve seen, very good facilities as well. I’m very, very happy to be here and I feel like this is a good fit.
“I actually heard of Everton’s interest a while ago – not only from now but previously. England is very similar to Denmark so I will feel at home quickly.
“I’ve spoken to the manager. It sounds as though he likes the way I play football and I can be a good fit for the team with my speed, so now I want to deliver."
The search for another attacking option out wide had been the priority at Everton, having seen Arnaut Danjuma return to Villarreal following the completion of his loan deal, and the sale of Lewis Dobbin to Aston Villa.
Everton managed 40 goals last season, the second worst in the Premier League ahead of Sheffield United (35), and Dyche believes Lindstrom has a lot to offer in the final third.
"Jesper is a player with very good ability who can operate in a number of different attacking roles, which will benefit us heading into the new season," said Dyche.
"He joins us with a range of different experiences. He is hungry and eager to succeed with us, and that's a strong starting point as we look to add more productivity to our attack."
Maguire labels England criticism 'ridiculous' following Euro 2024 display
Harry Maguire has defended his England team-mates after their performance at Euro 2024, labelling the criticism as "a bit ridiculous".
England reached back-to-back European Championship finals but suffered the same outcome in Berlin as they did at Wembley three years ago.
The defeat against Spain saw Gareth Southgate become the first head coach in the history of the tournament to end up on the losing side in two finals.
Southgate called time on his eight-year tenure in charge of the Three Lions two days after the tournament ended, winning 59.8% of his 102 games in charge.
Despite this, underwhelming performances in Germany saw cups thrown towards the former England head coach as supporters jeered the players.
Southgate came under fire for his defensive approach, though only Walter Winterbottom (383) and Alf Ramsey (224) have overseen more England goals than his 213.
However, Maguire has come to the defence of his team-mates.
“Yes, performances might not have been amazing but it is tournament football," Maguire told BBC Sport.
"It is not as expansive. There are far less risks taken. You can’t afford to make mistakes or get caught going out in a full press. You saw throughout the tournament there were not many high-scoring wins.
“I just don’t know what the media or fans expected of this team. Was it to go and beat Serbia 4-0 in the first game and then beat Denmark 3-0? Did they think it was just going to be a walk in the park?”
Under Southgate's stewardship, England reached more major tournament finals in four attempts (two) than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cup and Euros (one).
Maguire played 63 times during Southgate's time in charge, a total only bettered by Harry Kane (81), Kyle Walker (70), Jordan Pickford and John Stones (both 68).
Maguire was forced to miss the tournament having picked up an injury in May, forcing him to miss Manchester United's FA Cup success against Manchester City.
Euro 2024 was the first major tournament he has missed during his international career, having become a mainstay in central defence alongside Stones.
Maguire's 17 appearances at major tournaments saw him keep seven clean sheets, but he insisted that missing out on Euro 2024 was difficult for him to comprehend.
"To miss out was tough," said Maguire.
“It has been really frustrating, working all season to get myself mentally and physically at the top of my game and be in a position to feel I could really make a difference for Manchester United and my country."
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