If you come off the boil slightly and that disharmony is there, it can be a difficult place to play your football

THIS is how it feels to be Celtic right now.

- BY RYAN MCDONALD

It's not always about Trebles, Doubles and titles galore.

Sometimes you have to dig deeper than ever when adversity strikes, and that's exactly what Callum McGregor has demanded of his teammates.

There's nobody hurting more than the captain after Sunday's shock Scottish Premiership defeat at Dens Park.

As the dressing-room leader, McGregor is trying his best to galvanise a struggling squad who have let standards drop well below par this season.

Then there's the unrest off the park between protesting fans and the hierarchy, which is only adding to the bad mood music around Parkhead.

Now in his 12th season at Celtic, McGregor admits this has been one of the toughest periods of his career.

"Yeah, I think there' a lot of disharmony which can make it difficult for a club like this," he confessed.

"It's so used to winning and everything's great when you're winning games but again I think from the outside it looks easy and it's not easy.

"The reason why we win so many games is because we work so hard. So really it's a double-edged sword.

"When you come to this club, you have to sacrifice everything to be a success, and then you get to enjoy all the good days that have come over the last 15-16 years.

"But it's not easy and I think periods like this just show that it's not easy. If you come off the boil slightly, if you're not quite there and that disharmony is there, then it can be a difficult place to play football.