Celtic kicked off a busy run of 10 fixtures between the start of December and the beginning of 2022 with a 1-0 victory over Hearts.

Callum McGregor was delighted with the win, which extends the team’s unbeaten domestic form, and like his manager, the captain acknowledged that with a bit more ruthlessness in front of goal, it could have been a more comfortable victory for the Hoops.

Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, McGregor said: “It was a good three points. The first half was really good with some great bits of football, good intensity – everything we were wanting to do – but we just couldn’t get the second goal to try and kill the game at that point.

“In the second half the game becomes a wee bit basketball but I thought that the boys dug in really well. It’s a really difficult month and it’s a huge three points.

'Everybody could see how well we were playing, creating chances but you just need that wee bit of ruthlessness just to put teams away when you’re on top in the game.'

"You get the first one and then if you get the second one, it probably kills the game at that point.

“But sometimes you need to grind it out a little bit and I thought we did that in the second half.

“There are always periods in the game where the other team will have a bit of possession and maybe create one or two chances.

“And then, it’s just about trying to stay calm, stay organised and try to regain the ball again and in the last 15 minutes I thought we did that and created another couple of chances that we could have killed the game off at the other end.

“Overall, it was a good night, a really good three points and we move on to the weekend.”

Captain: We want to be more ruthless in front of goal