Callum McGregor

Best he’s looked in months and you could see his confidence and then the teams confidence grow through the game. Perfect timing.

 

We all stood up to acclaim that sprint back, knowing he is back!!!! Brilliant for us going into these last few games.

 

Terrible opening 30mins then bossed it ! Hopefully we see the calmac we k ow from now !

 

Sensational today. Summoned his inner Brooney to Captain us to the title once again. Immense

 

Thought he was absolutely brilliant and that run and tackle was outstanding. That Vargas is quick as well.

Just at the right time, maybe just needed those minutes before when we were moaning.

 

Normally leads from the front against the scum, let’s hope he controls the game again tomorrow as we need everyone on their A game.

 

Loved his response to the question at 48 secs from that pellet Mark Benstead. Then the follow up after that as well trying to get McGregor to bite. Mark * more like.

 

Talks so well. Future manager.

 

What is it like to see Callum McGregor mature as a captain and a person over the years?

It’s been amazing to see. He was a talented young player. What Callum did was he was very patient in his development. I see lots of young players here and now across other clubs, they want to be in first teams at 17 and 18. That’s now always the case. You look at Callum coming through and getting a great education from the coaches here. He then goes out on loan to Notts County, comes back and by the time he’s 21 he’s starting to get the feel for the first team. It was one of the big factors for me coming back. I’ve got to be honest – knowing that he was here. because he was absolutely phenomenal for me in that first season. The number of positions he played for. His view of the game is that the very highest ever. I’ve been lucky to have worked with some great captains, some brilliant captains. He’s right up there with them. All captains do it in different ways. For me, just to see his growth as a player and as a personality on the field …to captain a club like Celtic you need to have a big personality on and off the pitch but you also need to have humility and that’s what always strikes me with Callum. He’s an absolutely brilliant player. He was majorly influential in my coming back here. To work with someone like that, knowing what he would bring, knowing his professionalism is at the very highest level of all the players I’ve ever worked with, and then his performance level. It’s great to see. He’s developed into an incredible player and a great man also.

 

Its remarkable how smooth the transition to captain for Callum McGregor from Scott Brown has been. To be able to so effortless is a real credit to him given how incredible a captain he was following on from. Not many would have been able to have done that at all never mind in the manner McGregor has.

 

His laugh at the Cantwell comment is hilarious, he knows the wee boy from tiktok isn't anywhere near him.

 

Hopefully bosses it tomorrow.

 

What was said?

 

If he keeps up where he left off last week, it's a certainty.

 

Cantwell said in his interview after the last old firm that their kind of scrap at the end meant he wanted to win* the fixture more, and when the interviewer there just quoted it to Callum he just laughed and said if that's what he wants to think lol.

 

If he's anything above 80% of what he can do, it'll be a bloodbath.

 

Looking for 110% then. Get them liquidated!

 

Celtic stalwart Callum McGregor stares down his 38th appearance against Rangers on Saturday; his 11th as captain. To call him a veteran of Scottish football's flagship fixture is, surely, an understatement.

With 20 wins, 11 losses and six draws under his belt to this end, the 30-year-old has experienced all the highs and lows and in betweens the derby has to offer, and has earned his stripes by way of triumphant score lines and well-earned silverware dating back to 2016.

Still, loath to entertain even the thought of familiarity, or worse still, complacency, the central midfielder remains certain every single one of these fiery encounters is unique in its own right.

Now, McGregor wants Celtic to focus on themselves on derby day.

"Every one of these games is different, and every one throws up a different challenge," McGregor said. "There are multiple different ways to win these games and you have to find the right way when the game kicks off.

"You can have a plan, something might happen and you’ve got to change and find a solution in the 90th or 95th-minute of the game.

"Saturday will be no different, but we intend to go and be as aggressive as we possibly can but something might be thrown up and we still have to find a way to do whatever it takes to get the win."


Viewed through a broader lens, Saturday's encounter certainly breaks from the status quo of recent years, where one clear frontrunner has established themselves in pole position by this late stage in the season.



Barring Rangers' title-winning trail of 2020/21, that's invariably been Celtic since McGregor burst onto the first-team scene in 2014, but with three points separating the sides in Celtic's favour, and just two more Scottish Premiership fixtures remaining, there's an added edge to this match that's been missing for some time.

A win for Celtic would mean Brendan Rodgers' men need just one point from Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Wednesday and St Mirren at home after that to clinch a third successive league title. Should Philippe Clement's side win or even hold the hosts to a draw, on the other hand, and the final week of Scottish Premiership football will be as nail-biting as it's ever been.

Despite a lacklustre first-half display at Ibrox last Sunday, Rangers ultimately dominated a 10-man Kilmarnock over 90 minutes, winning 4-1 and matching Celtic's 3-0 victory over Hearts the day before.

During the latter, McGregor rallied the home crowd with a ferocious tackle on Kenneth Vargas just before half-time – the Celtic captain having tracked the forward half the length of the Celtic Park pitch in the process, with his side leading the game 2-0 in that moment.

"[That] felt good," said McGregor. "Obviously coming back from injury and you are getting up to speed again, it's a good moment to put it to bed. You feel good and things are moving in the right direction.

"Then the crowd's reaction gave us another level in the game. And then I thought we were really good in the last 25 minutes. We showed great quality and could have won the game by more."


Celtic went on to beat Hearts 3-0 on the day, and while the football on display and the scoreline after the whistle was impressive, the tangible sense of unity between the home support, the players and the manager was something McGregor similarly enjoyed.

McGregor's heroics illustrated a player back to full fitness following the injury that saw him sidelined earlier this season, returning only in bursts over the last few weeks with limited minutes per game.

As per the Celtic captain's own admission, having him return in this manner was well ahead of the projected schedule behind the scenes, stressing that it was a risk but one that he and those advising him felt worthwhile.

Given the magnitude of Saturday's derby, this seems like a fair assessment from the 30-year-old – as a player who both revels in the fixture and who knows the angst of being forced to watch on from the sidelines. He added: "Touch wood, nothing goes wrong now. You are always trying to get up to speed and then sometimes something happens in the game and you just have to react. Your brain takes over and you have a moment like that.

"I'm [definitely] moving much better now. I think just given the nature of the injury and the timeline they got given right at the beginning, I think that's why there has been a bit of confusion around it.

"The timeline was quite extensive and we sort of had a chat as a group that we wanted to try and be as aggressive as possible so that we could get back in time for these games and the finish to the season.

"I think if you ask any footballer, when you get injured it is probably the most difficult time in your career, especially when you are coming into the business end of the season when the trophies are getting handed out. The last thing you want to be doing is sitting watching it all unfold. You can't get inside there and help your teammates.




It's said to the point of cliche, but for good reason: a fit club captain is the first name on any team sheet, and McGregor is no exception.

Still, the central midfielder knows his job and knows it well – and that includes his position as skipper on and off the pitch, ensuring younger players or those not long through the door understand and embody the expectations set by him and the club itself.

If everyone does that, reckons McGregor, then Celtic will be in a good place come full-time on Saturday.

He added: "There's been no secret made that we've had to show a lot of resilience as a club this season. Difficult moments, being ahead, sort of throwing it away a little bit, but then wresting the control back again.

"You get a change of manager, players leaving and coming in, so you then have to try and build a new team and these things take time. But the one thing we have always done is stick by each other and keep pushing and keep trying to get better.

"And, just naturally, when you get to the business end of the season, then the whole thing comes alive a little bit as well."

"For sure, the atmosphere in the stadium, the performance, everything [last weekend] was a really good moment for the group, the supporters and the club.

"Hopefully, we can push on in a positive way again."