McGregor on why Celtic hero Kyogo is 'the best striker he's ever seen'

Psychologically how big a win was that for the team?

It was massive. In terms of the moment we were in probably. There was a lot of noise and a lot of chat. It is always a difficult place to come. We knew that as well but it is a huge credit to the players to go out there and play the way we did especially in the first 35 minutes was outstanding. We silenced the crowd and started to get them frustrated. We started to pick our way through the game and I thought we thoroughly deserved the goal. In the second half you know when you come here you will be under pressure and it is all hands to the pump. I thought everybody to a man ran themselves into the ground in terms of duels, tackles, and blocks and Joe Hart made some great saves. It is a brilliant moment for us as a group. We are a relatively young group so to come here and win and to do it under the circumstances that we did the boys should feel very good about it. We now have to use it as a positive and fuel for what is to come. There is no point in winning today and then coming back after the international break and starting slowly and undoing all that good work. We also spoke about that in the changing room; hopefully, it can be the springboard for us to kick on.

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As captain did you use all that to create a backs-to-the-wall, siege mentality as motivation?

I think all that is the perfect recipe for coming here and putting on a display like that. In the difficult moments, you have to show your personality and you have to show up and our big players certainly did that today. The younger players followed that example and I am really proud of the group in terms of the way they performed.

You said you abandoned your principles in previous games but were fully committed to them today and it showed - didn't it?

We probably simplified a bit this week and we were maybe guilty of information overload at times and with a young group that can be difficult but we tried to strip it back and use the simplicity of the model and layer it up from there. We stuck to our principles and we came out of the traps flying and we played some good football and settled ourselves into the game. If you don't start well here then you can be in for a difficult afternoon but I thought we handled the occasion really well.

Psychologically what was it like to win a match of this magnitude with no fans?

It’s probably like two different fixtures now with no away supporters in. Again, that can galvanise you. It’s a really difficult moment to come here. It’s almost like a siege mentality where it’s everyone in the stadium against you. That’s when you need your big players and personality to step up and I thought we did that. It probably makes it even sweeter. The reason why we play football is obviously to play in front of fans but if you can’t do it, the next best thing is to make them proud watching and hopefully we did that today. I think we have to use this. There’s no better place to come and win and to do it under the circumstances we have, we have to use it as a springboard now. There’s no point in winning today and going back and starting to drop points again. It makes this pointless. We understand in there. Everybody feels good in there but we are under no illusions that we have to kick on. You’ve got four weeks between every international break now. You have to go strong, have your break then go strong and finish the first half of the season very well. We know what’s at stake now and we have to get to work.

Was this a statement win?

Hopefully. It’s a difficult place to come. We showed a big personality and good quality in the game. I think we showed a bit of everything. You show why you are the champions. I always think when the going gets tough and the chips are down, there’s no better thing to come out and perform like that and make a statement. We are happy with our day’s work. But we know there’s a long way to go. I’ve been over the course many, many times. I’ve won these ones and I’ve lost them. You win it, you enjoy today, and then you draw a line under it. Then when you come back from the international break you are good to go again.

The boss took you aside at half-time and complimented you how did that feel?

That’s nice. You just try and do your best as much as you can. I’m just glad he saw that and gave me a wee pat on the back but I need to keep going.

How did you rate Liam Scales' performance?

Outstanding. It was obviously a new central defensive pair, really, really strong, good on the ball, reading the game really well. Brilliant in his duels as well. You need your big players to step up and he did that. He had a tremendous performance. Big Lager as well. Really strong defensively, and gave us that solidity when the balls were coming in the box. The two of them worked together, squeezing the line, getting us out of the box and making big blocks. You understand at times when you come to Ibrox you are going to be under the pump and you need your defenders and your goalkeeper. And today they were outstanding.

Do you sense the new guys will use it as a springboard?

I think so. Sometimes in football, you need a moment to galvanise the group and hopefully, that is it. You can feel it in the changing room, there is no better place to win. Hopefully, they feel the magnitude of the result, the performance, and what it means to come here without supporters and get the result. Hopefully, they now start to understand the fabric of the club.

Odin Thiago Holm showed real composure when he came on, didn't he?

Definitely. Really, really comfortable on the ball. Difficult environment to come in but he was calm, made a few incisive passes and probably on another day we could put the game to bed at 2-0 with one of the counter-attacks we had. I thought everyone to a man was outstanding. I thought Matty, Bull, and everyone played their part.

It was a great goal to win the Glasgow derby, wasn't it?

What a finish. Unbelievable. I said to him in there ‘I think you are the best striker I’ve ever seen’. In the big moments, he is just ice cold and shows his quality yet again, and shows his importance to the club.

Was he annoyed at the two gilt-edged chances that he missed beforehand?

I probably would have been but, again, in the big moment he makes up for it. He was excellent.