Luke McCowan offered an honest assessment of Celtic’s Old Firm defeat, admitting Rangers tactical changes exposed a worrying lack of reaction and leadership within the Hoops ranks as the visitors ran out 3–1 winners at Celtic Park.
Speaking after the match, McCowan acknowledged that Rangers head coach Danny Rohl’s second-half adjustments proved decisive and that Celtic and Wilfried Nancy failed to respond.
“Rangers changed their shape and we didn’t react well enough to it,” he said.
“The manager needs to put the message across; the players need to then react to it.”
From a Rangers perspective, it was a revealing admission. Rohl’s side altered their approach after the break and seized control. #
Celtic, by McCowan’s own account, stood still and lost the 1-0 goal lead they held at the break.
“I think teams will change shape,” he continued.
“We might dominate the ball for the first 45 through the shape that we play, and then the second 45 they change the structure and we just aren’t reacting to it as well as we should be.”
The midfielder did not attempt to soften the verdict.
“It’s just not good enough,” he said.
McCowan’s frustration spilled over into a blunt reflection on the result itself - and the shock it has sent through the Celtic support.
“Rangers can’t be coming here and winning 3–1,” he said.
“It’s just not good enough. It’s never been this story at Celtic.”.
McCowan repeatedly returned to the issue of authority and accountability, stressing that responsibility ultimately sits with the man on the touchline.
“He’s the manager,” he said.
“Football’s football. He’s the manager. We need to do what he’s implementing in the game.”
But his explanation exposed the problem clearly.
“In the first half we did,” McCowan admitted.
“In the second half they changed it. We didn’t. That’s just as simple as that.”
Former Dundee man McCowan spoke openly about the psychological toll of repeated defeats – Celtic have now lost six of their last eight.
“It’s about results and winning,” he said.
“That’s the be all and end all of it.
“Especially if you’re mid-season, you’re never getting time.”
Perhaps most striking was McCowan’s acknowledgement of just how unfamiliar, and unsettling, this situation feels for those inside Celtic Park.
“When’s it ever been this bad?” he asked.
“It’s never.
“You’re asking fans to react to something for the first time they’ve seen it.”
For the players, he admitted, the impact is deeply personal.
“Us as players, for the first time, we’re feeling it,” McCowan said.
“It’s not nice. I’ll tell you that from a player’s perspective.
“It doesn’t leave you. It haunts you every minute of every day when you’re not winning.”