Callum McGregor says Celtic 'never known when we're beaten' as he hails team spirit

Celtic captain Callum McGregor pinpointed their never-say-die spirit after the champions retained the William Hill Premiership in fitting fashion with two more late goals.

Celtic secured a fifth consecutive title with a 3-1 win over Hearts on Saturday. But the trophy appeared to be slipping from their grasp for long spells of a season that looked set to be characterised by transfer failings and a complete breakdown in relations between the board and a large section of fans.

The Hoops did not top the table from September until the 87th minute of Saturday’s decider when Daizen Maeda converted a cutback from Callum Osmand to net his seventh goal in five matches.

Osmand’s subsequent goal was Celtic’s 13th of the league season after the 86-minute mark and those goals have together yielded 19 points.

Stoppage-time strikes alone have earned two wins each over Kilmarnock and Motherwell, one over Livingston, a draw at Ibrox and a victory over St Mirren that had looked unlikely until McGregor fired home from 25 yards.

“It was the commitment to each other, the desire, the willingness not to get beaten,” the 32-year-old said.

“Then we arrived into a few big games where if you lose, you’re done. You’re 2-0 down at Ibrox and get a draw. You show something to get yourself back in the game.

“So it’s been there in spades – you only need to see how many last-minute goals we’ve scored to tell you that, to realise we never know when we’re beaten, that you keep going and going and eventually you’ll find a moment.”

Twice Martin O’Neill has arrived to get Celtic out of a hole, the first in October when Brendan Rodgers left suddenly amid a breakdown in relations with the board and after back-to-back defeats by Dundee and Hearts which left them eight points adrift of the Jambos.

O’Neill handed over to Wilfried Nancy with Celtic level with Hearts with a game in hand and nine ahead of Rangers, but the Frenchman suffered four defeats in six league games before being sacked.

When the 74-year-old resumed duties in January, third-placed Celtic were six points behind Hearts, having lost their game in hand.

McGregor was a key part of the process of fixing Celtic’s season.

“You have to make sure everyone’s with you – you can’t do it on yourself, of course, but what I’ve got in that dressing room is seven, eight, nine proper men, proper leaders who want to take responsibility,” he said. “And when you’ve got that, you’ve got half a chance.”

It was not a straightforward repair job. Defeats by Hibernian and Dundee United and draws with Hearts and Rangers saw them trail in a three-horse race. But they produced when it mattered, finishing the league campaign with seven consecutive wins.

McGregor, who now has 25 major winners’ medals, said: “We got ourselves to a point where we were under pressure really for two or three months, when we have to win every game.

“That’s why it’s not only about football, it’s about what’s inside you. That’s been the mantra for a while – can we make the football game as good as we can, but do we have it between the ears? Because that’s where it is, between the ears.”