“We’re trying our best to implement the style he wants,” Luke McCowan | OneFootball

Luke McCowan spoke to the mainstream media ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports League Cup final against St Mirren. Here is everything that was said…

Luke McCowan of Celtic and Simon Murray of Dundee, Celtic v Dundee, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 03 Dec 2025 Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO Shutterstock

Q: Can you sum up what this period has been like with these three massive games in a week with the new manager and the small matter of a cup final at the end of all?

Luke McCowan: “I mean it was probably the same when Martin O’Neill had first come in as well. Obviously, you had three, four big massive games coming up. You go and do well and then the new manager comes in, and the performances just haven’t been there. But it’s something that we just need to stick together with. We’re trying our best to implement the style he wants to bring, and everybody’s in it together to get the performances. But the main thing is that the result is better. So we just need to band together as a team and keep working hard.”

Luke McCowan – St Mirren v Celtic, 23 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Q: How are you finding that? Because you might be one of the victims of it in the last couple of weeks, in the sense that you had played the previous couple, but now maybe making way for this new formation. How are you finding it?

Luke McCowan:  “It’s hard personally. You want to play as many games as you can and obviously get a little taste of starting three, four back-to-back games, helping the team get to some victories. But I just need to get my head down, as hard as it is. You need to just keep working away and when your chance comes it comes and you’re ready for it. You need to put work in on the training ground. You need to study what style we want to play and what the manager wants and try and be at my best when I’m in the team.”

Q: I’m sure you don’t want to give the manager secrets away, but how do you get a new style implemented with so little training ground time?

Luke McCowan:“That’s the hardest thing, I guess. But the manager’s confident in it, and we need to be confident in him. We need to show it better on the pitch, regardless. It’s about competing and making sure the guy you’re up against, you’re better than. I know football sometimes isn’t as simple as that, but if you can simplify it to that, then I feel your style of play and your shape can sometimes see you through it. We just need to keep trying and keep our confidence high, regardless of the results and know that we’re a really good football team. Recent results haven’t shown that, but as soon as we get back to a win, say Sunday for example, we can give ourselves a bit of momentum and push us on.”

Luke McCowan of Celtic and Tom Lowery of Kilmarnock Celtic v Kilmarnock, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 9 November 2025. Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO/Shutterstock

Q: You’ve played under a few managers now. How big a difference is it between one and another in terms of approach and strategy? Is it a big difference for the players?

Luke McCowan: “I think so. It’s not as big, I mean you’re a professional football player, so it does happen and you just need to adapt to it. Sadly in today’s football it is what it is. It can come but we just need to stick together. We’ve got so many players in there that are so experienced in this kind of stuff happening. Even the staff that’s been brought in, they’ve all been great. We just need to stick together, keep clarity with each other and make sure that the style or whatever is able to be successful but we need to get results and performances better.”

Q: Are you learning new things or are you just polishing things that you were brought up with?

Luke McCowan: “No, it’s just that. It’s just like polishing things you were brought up with. We’re out on the training pitch working on new bits here and there, but it’s not something that’s a million miles away from what we’ve been doing. It’s just performances haven’t been great so results haven’t been great to be honest, and we need to get that better. We’re disappointed as a team with the last two results and we just need to get on top of it again.”

Luke McCowan – theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Last night at Celtic Park, there’s not too many times you’ve seen the atmosphere like that. Some boos at full time. Do you think a win on Sunday will get full buy-in from the fans? What the manager is doing can be successful?

Luke McCowan: “I can’t really talk for the fans but we’re fully bought in. We need to buy in. It’s non-negotiable. We need to back everyone in this building, regardless of who’s been playing well, who’s not. Whatever it is, we’re a team. We need to back each other through the good and the bad because everybody’s all high-fives and cuddles when we’re winning but this team doesn’t go through two or three results that go bad. This is where the true characters are shown so we need to just be together. I know I’ve said it so many times in this interview but stick together. It’s just when you go through bad spells.

“Me personally, I’ve done it with Dundee at Ayr and trust me, they’re worse than bad times there. We just need to have that same attitude of we’ll move on to the next game. As I said before we even started, the games are coming fast in this period, and it’s a good thing that if you get one win, it can propel you into getting a few hopefully, and we just need to start with that on Sunday.”

Luke McCowan of Celtic celebrates scoring to give Celtic a 1-0 lead. Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, Glasgow, 3 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO / Shutterstock (The Celtic Star)

Q: You can play in many different positions, you have done since you’ve been here. In this new formation, do you think there’s anywhere that specifically suits you? Are you happy to play wherever the manager wants you? Has he said to you where he sees you?

Luke McCowan: “No, he sees me as out wide or middle of the park, just the two I’ve already played. But as I said, I’d play anywhere really if I’m honest. I might not play my best if I’m getting put about, but it’s just what I’d do for this club. I want to be out there helping the guys get results and get better performances and hopefully at some point I can do that.”

Q: I know you said the players need to buy in to what the manager wants but you also have the want to do it. Do you trust that he has a vision? Is that the same for the players? You see what the manager is trying to do and there’s a confidence from you guys that he is putting you in the right track? Because obviously fans would have questions just from the start but do you have that buy in?

Luke McCowan: “As I said, we have to. There’s no way around it. He’s the manager. He’s got his staff with him. We are players at this club. He’s the one who’s going to lead us into victories with whatever style and whatever management way he wants. So for us to listen to him and use what he’s telling us, then it’s going to lead us. It might not click in the now, which might happen at the very start but once it clicks then we’re hopefully thinking that’s going to prepare us for the performances that we need in winning games, most importantly.”

Q: St Mirren will be a battle won’t they? Do you look forward to that?

Luke McCowan: “Yeah, they always are. I’m so excited for Sunday. You go through the two bad results we had. You’ve got a final coming up that’s not usually the case, but we would love to have had momentum going into it, but Sunday is a big change. It’s Hampden. It’s a final. Regardless of whether you’re going to have momentum or not it’s always going to be a difficult one. So no, we’re glad that’s round the corner and we need to get ready for it because as you said St Mirren are going to bring their best.”

Luke McCowan of Celtic FC celebrates with teammate Marco Tilio of Celtic FC after scoring a goal during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Sporting CP and Celtic at Estadio Algarve on July 16, 2025 in Faro, Portugal. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

Q: The fact that you’ve got so many winners in the dressing room who have been at Hampden and lofted so many trophies at Hampden, can that be an added advantage to you guys?

Luke McCowan: “Yeah, it can help but it doesn’t help you once the whistle goes. It’s about using the experience before it to then give you the best opportunity when you’re out there, and we need to know we’re going to need to be at our best to go and get the victory because it’s not going to be just a stroll. As we’ve seen in the game at Paisley, they’ve held us out right until Cal sticks it in the top bin, and we need to just use that kind of game as a bit of confidence, and hopefully it can push us to defending our trophy.”

Q: It’s been two late 1-0 wins this season over St Mirren, you scored in the first game, do you expect the same thing at Hampden on Sunday?

Luke McCowan: “Yeah, of course. As I said, they’re going to have more fans than they usually have at Paisley or Parkhead. It’ll be just a great occasion. We need to make it a great occasion, I’ll be honest, because it’s not going to be a great occasion if we get beat. We need to make sure the boys are in there ready for it and right now all the boys are together and ready to go.”

Watch Luke McCowan’s Media Conference ahead of the Premier Sports Cup Final below…

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