Captain Callum McGregor says Motherwell are right to be aiming for win at Celtic Park

Celtic captain Callum McGregor thinks it is only natural that Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou should be targeting victory at Parkhead.

But the Hoops captain hopes Motherwell’s possession-based style and attacking intent provides an opportunity for his team on Sunday.

Askou was clear in his intentions for his team to secure a first win at Celtic Park in 10 years and stated they were “not just going there to frustrate Celtic and tease them a little bit. We’re going to win.”

McGregor said: “I think every manager and every team and every player, when they turn up to a game at the weekend, they want to win. So if he said anything different, then you’d probably question that.

“We’re the same. We turn up, we want to win, we want to play good football. Let’s see what kind of match we get on Sunday.”

The Steelmen have not lost under the Dane and their unbeaten run stretches back 14 games – their longest as a top-flight team since their 1952 Scottish Cup final victory made it 18 games undefeated.

McGregor, whose side have failed to score in five of their last nine games, said: “They’ve started the season really well. I watched them in the first game of the season, I think it was. Really committing, trying to play the right way. It’s good to see that and they’ve had good success with it as well.

“For sure, they’ll come here on Sunday and they’ll try and play, which then gives us an opportunity to be aggressive on the pressure and try and implement our style into the game.

“So they’ve started well. And for us, obviously, we need a win to take us through to the international break.”

Askou has set about trying to raise expectations from his squad and secured early results with a place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals the major tangible reward so far.

The Motherwell manager said: “It starts with all the little actions in the training ground and stadium.

“We expect top performances every time they have to turn up or lay off or do a sprint or a cross. We don’t settle for anything else than top level. That’s where it starts.

“And if we get all these little actions to a higher level, then we suddenly have something and we have a substance where everything is raised. And then the level of what we do in general raises.

“So it starts with all the little details: how we communicate with each other; how hard we work in the gym; what we eat for lunch; how much they sleep at night; how well we are prepared; and how willing we are to push each

other when we can feel that it’s a tough day today and I’m not at my best.

“Are we willing to push ourselves to get up there where we need to be? And are we willing to push each other?

“The guys have been really, really positive in terms of their attitude towards getting pushed and pushing each other and eager to learn and to develop. And that’s key that we stay there.

“We’re still in the early days and we want to build something that will stand and not just get a foundation that will wither away if we don’t build anything on top of that.”