THE idea that all teams have an off day hasn’t applied to Celtic so far this season. They have dropped league points only once, away to Inverness Caley in September, and even then the equaliser didn’t arrive until the final minute of a match that Celtic otherwise dominated and twice held the lead.

There have been other times when they have been down but never out. They trailed St Johnstone 2-1 at half-time a fortnight ago only to end up running out 5-2 winners. And then back in December they were 2-0 down away to Motherwell and stormed back to win 4-3.

That day at Fir Park was the first real test of the team’s mettle since Brendan Rodgers took over as manager and they emerged from it with flying colours.

Read more: Callum McGregor: Celtic's playing style is demoralising for the opposition

Celtic may have the occasional bad spell in a domestic game but so far they have always found a way to turn it around. It is that determination to never throw in the towel that will see them finish the season as champions and almost certainly by a record winning margin.

Rodgers has always said he would rather try to influence a game by being proactive rather than waiting until it was too late to have an influence, and he showed that in that previous game at 'Well, who will get their chance for revenge at Celtic Park this weekend.

Trailing by a Lewis Moult goal, Rodgers chose to rejig his side by sending on a midfielder in Callum McGregor in place of defender Emilio Izaguirre. The change didn’t have the immediate effect hoped for – Motherwell instead doubled their lead via Moult’s second of the game – but another tactical tinkering at half-time soon paid dividends.

McGregor soon scored his first goal of the season to draw Celtic to within a goal, before the teams shared three goals in the space of two minutes to tie it up at 3-3. Just as it looked as if the visitors would have to settle for a draw, up popped Tom Rogic with a last-minute winner. McGregor looks back on that game now as one of the most significant in Celtic’s season.

He said: “Obviously we never started well and it was probably one of the only games this season where we didn’t start as we know we can. We found ourselves two goals down pretty early on but we changed the system at half-time and got back into the game. Getting that first goal was vital. Of course we went on to win the game and it’s probably the most exciting match we’ve had this season so it was good to be a part of it.

Read more: Callum McGregor: Celtic's playing style is demoralising for the opposition

“Motherwell is always a tough place to play at as over the last few years we’ve really had to play well to get results there. It was a really good turning point for the team as we hadn’t been tested too much before that in terms of going behind in the league. Even though we lost those two goals we still felt that we had the team spirit and quality that, if we stayed calm, we could get back into the game by scoring goals.”

McGregor’s goal, after he worked a 1-2 with Stuart Armstrong, gave Celtic the belief they needed that they could find a way back into the match. He added: “It was an important time in the game as if we got a goal we felt we could go on and win the game and that’s the way it worked out.

“I was thinking it was a good goal but all of a sudden it got lost in among the others in a seven-goal thriller. But we were just delighted that we got the win and it doesn’t matter who scores the goals. We showed great fighting spirit to get back into the game. When we went 2-0 down we still stayed calm and we knew that we could go on and win the game.

“That was my first goal of the season and there have been a couple since so it was good for me to come into that game and make a difference by getting that goal.”

Motherwell have not put up as much of a fight against Celtic away from home, losing 5-0 at Parkhead in the League Cup and 2-0 in the league this season. Despite that, McGregor expects a difficult afternoon on Saturday. He added: “They come and they always work hard and make it difficult for us. I think it’s just all about how we approach the game and use the correct preparation, as we always do. It’s important for us to go in with the winning mindset and try to play the right way and get the right result.”

Read more: Callum McGregor: Celtic's playing style is demoralising for the opposition

McGregor’s chances of starting more games over the remainder of the season have improved with the news that Tom Rogic will be on the sidelines for a few more months after undergoing an ankle operation. The Scot, though, was gutted for his team-mate.

“It’s horrible for him,” McGregor told the Celtic View. “You don’t wish any bad injury on any of your team-mates and it’s unfortunate for Tom that he was playing so well and scoring important goals for us. He’s going to be a big miss for us and we all hope that he gets fit soon. It will be frustrating for him but all he can do is keep his head down and do the right things and hopefully he gets back as soon as he can.”