“Like a lot of players, I’m not great watching my team when I can’t play, so last Saturday was tough.

“The importance of the game and everything that goes with it made the result that bit more disappointing. We’ve beaten Hibs twice this season and so we were confident we could get another good result at Easter Road.

“We wanted a good result going into the game this weekend to give us a bit of momentum and maybe put a bit of pressure on the teams round about us in the league, but it wasn’t to be.

“Now it’s all about how we bounce back and there would be no better way of doing that than getting a result in this game on Sunday.

“That is all we have been focusing on this week, the Hibs game is gone now.

“As skipper it is my job to lift the players and I will be honest and say it was quite tough on Monday. The boys were hurting and it was also a pretty miserable day weather-wise at training. The boys were down and disappointed but we managed to get the spirits back up over the course of the morning.

“You have to keep looking forward in this job. We can’t influence the Hibs result any more. All we can do is influence what happens against Celtic. We have looked over the Hibs game and tried to pick out some points, but moving forward we need to pick ourselves back up as we have a massive game today and a massive week ahead.

“When we get beaten, the manager will have his team talk after the game and you take in what he has to say. Normally that night is when you feel it worst of all. You repeat the game in your head over and over again.

“Everyone is different but for me, the next day I then try to block it out so I can move forward. Yes, of course we analyse what went wrong and learn from it, look at any mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again, but after that, you must look forward to the next game coming up and try and put things right.

“It just makes Sunday’s game with Celtic today even more important.

“A lot has been made of our recent record against Celtic but I think you need to look at each game in isolation. The game at Pittodrie earlier in the season, we hold our hands up, we were well beaten. It is the best they have played against us since I have been here.

“In some of the other games, we could have improved the way we played and performed better.

“The league game in Glasgow this season was another example of those fine margins. In the first half we were doing ok, we were frustrating them. We had a good spell and created a few chances and then they score with a deflected shot out of nothing. Little things like that make a difference. When they get ahead they grow in confidence. On Sunday again we need to try and frustrate Celtic and then put them under pressure whenever we get the chance.

“These little things in a game are turning points. We want to try and change it so they turn for us and not against us.

“This is the first time I have ever had a two match ban for my bookings. It has been tough. I have been doing more running than I normally would through the week because I have not got a game at the weekend. I also try and do as much gym work as I possibly can too. Normally when training has stopped, I go and do some high intensity running, as if I was playing again.

“I am quite glad the Motherwell game is on in midweek so there is less time for me to wait to try and get back in. There is nothing worse than watching from the stand.

“Finally, we know that the fans are disappointed about the last result as we all are, but we must put that behind us now as we have a massive week coming up for our season and we need to focus on that. Starting from the game on Sunday with Celtic through to our cup tie with Kilmarnock, these are three games of real magnitude. Every match will bring its own challenges against three difficult opponents, so it is vital everyone pulls together – players, staff and supporters. Everyone has a part to play.”

You can read Graeme’s programme notes in full in Sunday’s RedMatchday Magazine. To order your copy online click here