If any new arrivals at Celtic last summer were unsure of what is expected of them when they pulled on the jersey, then they know for sure now. Something that has been evident in their last four performances going into the winter break.
Those wins, particularly the victory over Rangers on Saturday, have ensured that the mid-December dip that saw the champions lose to Kilmarnock and Hearts in successive matches has been offset somewhat, if not completely forgotten.
The players themselves certainly remember it, and the criticism that followed too both externally and internally as reminders were served that the standards demanded at the club had slipped.
That memory is a factor driving their recent upturn in both performance and outcome according to full-back Greg Taylor, though if anyone within the Celtic dressing room hadn’t picked up the message that things had to improve immediately following those losses, he has been sure to spell it out for them.
“I’m sure I do a lot of the boys’ nuts in but that’s just because I care so much. I want us as a team to show what we are capable of and also to bring success. I only ever give my opinions from a position of wanting us to do well.
“I can only speak for myself. I’m hungry for trophies and hungry for success. I understand that’s the demands of this club.
“I think there’s still a lot of growth in this team. Personally, I think from what he says the manager was talking about how there are a lot of boys who haven’t been at a club of this size. They are growing every day and learning the way we want to play.
“You’ve got to learn in the difficult times and also not get too caught up when you have a small bit of success.
“We’re halfway into a season. That’s what I touched on – about mentality. As a Celtic player for the big games, it’s easy to get up for them. You know what it takes. You know the demands.
“It’s about constantly showing that level every single week and in every sign of game. That’s important as well.
“Slowly but surely hopefully we’ll improve as the season goes along. That’s definitely one thing – you need to win but you need to win in a certain style.
“There were moments in games when we probably were not delivering the performances. We got a few results, but we weren’t quite hitting the levels we wanted to. We’ve got to that point recently. But I think there’s more growth in the team.
“Hopefully we can show that in the second part of the season.”
While blanking out Taylor’s frequent promptings may not be an option for his teammates, Taylor says they have become adept at blanking out the noise around their fortunes, particularly the narrative – which manager Brendan Rodgers recently took issue with – that they were in something of a crisis not so long ago.
“You try and block it out as much as you can,” he said.
“There has been, of course, a bit of criticism but that can come especially – as I touched on – when you lose two games at this club. It’s not good enough.
“We understood at that point that we really had to finish the four games that we had strongly, and we did.
“We knew it wasn’t ideal [losing to Kilmarnock and Hearts]. The goals that we conceded were from set plays. We didn’t start those games well enough.
“I think we’ve added an intensity to our game since then. There’s been a lot better running off the ball, unselfish running just to create space for your team-mate. That’s been an improvement.
“Of course, there have been blips along the way [this season]. The two defeats in the league were a really disappointing stage for us.
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“Probably over the piece, there hasn’t been that real consistency that we wanted until these last four games. But I think we’ve now found that.
“We’ve missed a lot of key players as well and hopefully we’ll have them back after the break and we’ll be ready to push on.”
Taylor himself has responded well to some personal criticism of his performances this term over the past few weeks, and his brilliantly taken volleyed goal against St Mirren on Tuesday night capped off a good run of displays from the left-back.
He knows though that won’t stop the ever-present speculation that the club are actively looking to replace him during this month’s transfer window, but he is confident he can see off any challenge for his place, as he has done in the past from the likes of Alexandro Bernabei.
“It’s always been the case, hasn’t it?” he said.
“It’s been the same in every transfer window since I signed here.
“It’s part of being at a big club. There will always be challenges and people breathing down your neck that want to take your jersey.
“Never rest on what you’ve done previously and always try to listen to the coaches and the manager. That normally stands you in good stead.
“Berna is a top player. He’s trained ever so well in this period. I’ve touched on this before, the boys who aren’t playing as consistently as myself and others they are so key to whatever success we get in the group.
“These guys train every day like it’s their last session. That’s the only way you can have success as a group.
“It’s just about trying to keep performance levels in training high for all of us and the manager will pick the team from there.”
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