CALLUM MCGREGOR is aiming for revenge as Kilmarnock come calling this afternoon, with the League Cup exit at Rugby Park back in August still rankling with the Celtic captain.

Brendan Rodgers lost his 100 percent domestic cup record as Celtic manager to Derek McInnes’s men that day, as a goal from Marley Watkins ended any thoughts of a treble at the first hurdle.

McGregor is desperate to gain a measure of vengeance at Celtic Park this afternoon, as the champions look to get the frustration of that result – and the midweek loss to Lazio – out of their system.

“We have to dust ourselves down as we have a big game on Saturday,” McGregor said.

“We owe them one for the cup – there will be a bit of motivation there.

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“You don’t ever want to lose games ever. It annoys you. Even when you drop points, those are the ones you remember for next time and do everything you can to put it right. That will be the message at the weekend.

“`You only get nights like the other night if you do well in the league. That is your bread and butter, and you need to make sure you are on the ball. I’m sure we will be.”

That slow start to Celtic’s season that included the cup exit in Ayrshire is, McGregor says, hopefully a thing of the past.

“The last two or three weeks the performances have started to get more slick,” he said.

“It’s a totally different game [to the Lazio match]. We probably have more of the ball whereas in Europe they meet you higher up and you are not having to break down 11 players, which we face a lot.

“It’s a bit more patience in Scotland to get that fluidity. In Europe the play is more in the middle of the pitch and teams will give you that space to play and be slick on the ball.

“It’s been getting better week on week. We have to learn from the other night, take the positives in terms of the performance and keep pushing forward.

“It was a wee bit sluggish at the start, but we seem to be getting a lot slicker. We’ve spent more time on the training pitch and we’re starting to get to know the new boys’ games.

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“The mentality kicks in where you want to be relentless and pushing all the time.

“It’s exciting where this team can go but we need to stay focussed, individually and collectively.”