CELTIC winning in a semi-final at Hampden is a familiar sight when it comes to this Hoops side, and that sense of familiarity was evident in the impressive performance from Neil Lennon’s side on Sunday. Callum McGregor’s insight into the champions' return to form underlines the importance of some key players coming back and maintaining faith in their own ability.

And the 2-0 win over Aberdeen at the National Stadium, Celtic's 35th consecutive victory in domestic cup competitions was greatly helped by having some important figures returning to the team and playing their part, as Callum McGregor told this week's Celtic View.

“At Celtic, there’s always a big demand to win and when you play in the big games you’re always expected to win,” he said. “There’s been a lot of boys missing during that period of time and boys still searching for fitness as well. We’ve managed to get some of them back in now and you can see we’re starting to look like ourselves again.

“Ryan’s come back in and played a few games now and he’s been an important player. Tom’s come back in and been brilliant for the team and Odsonne is back playing well now and building up his fitness. There are more options in the team now and we’re starting to look like we did before.”

McGregor is confident that the performances from the team will continue to improve as the competition in the squad intensifies and the relentless winning mentality gathers pace.

“Once you get the full squad back it lifts competition for places and, subconsciously, players raise their performance level and the whole thing starts to gather pace from there,” he said. “People seem to like pointing fingers at this squad but we always come back and answer the critics really well. We’ve come out of a difficult week there with some good performances that have improved game on game.

“Everyone expected us to lose to Lille but we were one or two moments away from winning the game and that shows the character and determination of the boys. As soon as anyone starts to question the group, then the boys react really well and that’s been the case in the last few games.

“It’s a mix of everything coming together and the boys really kicking into gear now. That’s the catalyst for the season now, building on these performance levels in every game and maintaining the momentum.”

To read the full interview with Callum McGregor, pick up the latest issue of the Celtic View. On sale now.

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Celtic View exclusive: Callum McGregor on the returning Celts