Callum McGregor on Celtic Players’ Viral Hearts Troll

Callum McGregor admitted Celtic’s players enjoyed themselves after last weekend’s dramatic title win over Hearts, but insisted the focus quickly turned toward today’s Scottish Cup Final against Dunfermline.

The celebrations lasted well into Sunday after Celtic completed one of the wildest league comebacks the club has produced in years. Players celebrated privately with coaches, family and close friends following the final whistle at Celtic Park before many continued the night across Glasgow.

Some of the squad were later spotted in a city centre pub on Sunday evening still enjoying the moment.

That included the now viral photos where several Celtic players posed with their hands placed on top of their heads, a clear reference to the controversial Motherwell handball decision involving Sam Nicholson earlier in the week.

The joke spread quickly online because the penalty award at Fir Park became one of the biggest talking points of the season. Celtic supporters embraced the wind-up immediately after the title was secured against Hearts through late goals from Daizen Maeda and Callum Osmand.

But inside the dressing room, attention has already shifted completely toward Hampden.

Martin O’Neill knows complacency would be dangerous against Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline side, especially after the emotional energy Celtic emptied during the title race. Lennon’s team have frustrated Premiership opponents repeatedly during this cup run and Celtic are expected to face another compact defensive setup this afternoon.

McGregor discussed the mood around the squad before kick-off.

He said: (Premier Sports), “Yeah, listen, I think we enjoyed it for a couple of days, quite rightly so. It was a tough season, but I think since we came back in at the start of the week then, you know, the full focus has been on the game.

“And, you know, we’ve been here so many times as Celtic players where you win something and then everybody’s looking at your reaction.

“You know, can you go again? Can you win something else? And that is the message to the boys today.

“You know, everybody’s going to be looking in terms of how we react to what happened last week. And obviously the full focus is on trying to win the game and trying to win another trophy.”

That mentality probably explains why Celtic recovered from such a chaotic season in the first place.

The squad looked mentally stronger once O’Neill returned. They stopped panicking during difficult moments and kept finding late goals even when performances became messy physically.

Today gives them the chance to finish the season with another trophy and a domestic double that looked impossible only a few months ago.