Celtic captain Callum McGregor felt their performance was as slick as it has been this season despite being held to a goalless draw by Hibernian.
The Hoops played out their fourth scoreless encounter of the campaign as they dropped two points behind Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership. But McGregor was encouraged by much of the display.
Celtic hit the bar twice, through Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi, and had 24 efforts at goal, six of them on target. There was an element of experimentation for Brendan Rodgers with Daizen Maeda starting on the right wing and Iheanacho through the middle, and McGregor feels there was plenty to build on ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash with Braga at Parkhead.
“If we play like that on Thursday night then I’m pretty sure we’ll win the game,” the midfielder said.
“We’ve been looking for rhythm and searching for that rhythm. I think that was probably as good as it’s been in that football sense. We created a lot of chances.
“So like I said, if the team are then progressing through the ranks and through the pitch like that then, if we can play like that on Thursday night, I’m pretty sure we’ll have a good chance of winning.
“That was probably as slick as we’ve been, right the way through the pitch, creating massive amounts of really good chances.
“On that type of performance, then the goals will come, that will start to drip in our favour.”
McGregor reacts to Celtic fans’ protests
There was a subdued atmosphere for the first 12 minutes as Celtic fans carried out a silent protest against the board over its transfer dealings.
The campaign is set to be escalated on Thursday with the Celtic Fans Collective planning a 29-minute silence to mark the number of days which will have elapsed since an open letter from supporters groups called for answers from the club. But McGregor said:
“To be honest, when the game starts the players don’t really notice too much. You’re thinking about the game and where you should be and all these things.
“Obviously after that you hear a little bit and you think, right, now the atmosphere is there. The job of the team is to try and get the crowd going as quickly as possible. So if we start the game well then hopefully the whole thing will come to life again.
“It’s now on the team to produce performances that make everyone happy. So that doesn’t change.”
Hibs continued their unbeaten start to the Premiership season and recorded their first clean sheet in the league. David Gray’s side now face a Hearts team who made it 16 points out of a possible 18 with a 3-0 win over Falkirk.
Gray said: “It’s a brilliant game to look forward to at the weekend.
“As a Hibs player certainly I felt this is always the game that you want to play in, you want to be involved in.
“It’s geared up for a really good one. We’re undefeated in the league, they’re at the top of the league, what goes with that, so they’re obviously playing well and it’s all about looking forward to these games and I think the players will certainly be ready for them.”
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