Celtic captain Callum McGregor says he understands the “discontent within the supporters” as fans prepare to demonstrate their anger following a disappointing summer transfer window and failure to reach the Champions League.
Supporters are planning to boycott the first 12 minutes of Sunday’s trip to Kilmarnock in protest at the board, who are accused failing to do enough to help manager Brendan Rodgers strengthen his squad.
McGregor, a boyhood Celtic fan, said he did “not want to be dragged into the politics of it too much,” but acknowledged how the supporters felt.
“I think it’s unprecedented in recent times,” said the 32-year-old midfielder.
“The sort of level of noise and discontent within the supporters, I can understand it. It’s the supporters that make the club what it is. It’s so special.
“They’re putting their hard-earned money into the club so, of course, I understand that they want to see the best possible team on the pitch.
“Everybody in elite sport, the players, the supporters, we all want to be at the highest level possible every single year, and that is the demand of this club, so I do understand it.
“I sympathise with them a little bit on it because it’s them who are spending the money and trying to support the team, etc, so my responsibility is to try and give them the best product on the pitch that we possibly can.
“My focus is on that and trying to bring them happiness through the football of the team.”
McGregor will discuss the planned protests pre-match with team-mates on Saturday but doesn’t want to “make it a bigger thing than it already is”.
He added: “It’s now important that we draw a line under what happened, the team now get back to functioning and attacking in the way that we want to do.
“I’ve got no doubt if we find a goal in the Champions League [to beat Kairat Almaty], it’s not anywhere near as noisy as what it is. And that comes back on the team as well. We all have to take collective responsibility.
“I understand that the window probably didn’t go the way that the club wanted, there were some targets that we didn’t get, etc. And sometimes that’s life, sometimes that happens.
“The important thing is there’s an acknowledgement of it and there’s an acknowledgement to try and do better the next time.
“That’s all, as a captain, as a supporter, that you can hope for, is that people learn their lessons from mistakes, ie. players, coaches, managers, the board, etc. We all have to learn and get better.”
