Callum McGregor

He needs cover, a prospect ready to replace him? Can Bernardo or Engels or even mccowing do this, no chance! It's a Scott brown type we need.

 

Bernardo had a reasonable performer against Livingston in that role and did it a few times season before last. Think he's our closest to what you are looking for in the current squad.

 

Strange one, we've not giving cal Mac and kind of compitition for his place.

 

He’s definitely not being helped by those around him, but he’s the captain of the club with over 500 games under his belt so needs to be taking a bit more responsibility in games.

Calls for him to be dropped are way ott but there’s no reason at all for him to still be playing all the minutes he does, especially in games we’re cruising. The middle of the park is the one position we actually have a bit of depth in.

 

We can’t do anything when it’s not through him. He’s stuck in a wee area to build play, and only time to break it is when we’re high up the pitch. That’s the tactics.

It’s easier now than even last season when it was clocked what to do to us, because at least last season he wasn’t the only guy in the wee triangle for both CB’s and both CM’s. With CB’s and CM’s needing to go through that with positions we play in to link with them.

Last season at the least, Taylor was a wild card to come in central and offer the 1-2’s to get him turned round, not facing our goal.

So easy now, so predictable.


And the thing that angers me is McGregor is one of the easiest guys you could hope to use when that’s happening to * wreck they tactics. And all it takes is being more flexible tactically. Yesterday’s example? Put Engel’s next to him, double pivot, and tell McGregor for 5/10 minutes if you’re being Rodgers style of risk adverse, of just breaking the lines, push up, make runs, play in different spaces.


That’s just focusing on how it’d free up McGregor and the issue of him or * all.

Doesn’t touch on we’ve then got a 10 if we do that, close to the striker, with the other team not setting up to cover the space inbetween, and a striker not needing to drop so deep can be on the shoulder and when they do drop? 10 can run in behind instead.

and that’s a simple as * tweak with what’s on the pitch for hs usually, no subs or * all needed

 

Can we wheel the captain out for one last desperate plea?

 

Celtic captain Callum McGregor says the team will be aiming to get the fans back onside and make them “proud” of the club again amid levels of discontent that is “unprecedented in recent times”.

The Hoops return to league action against Kilmarnock on Sunday, with several fan groups set to protest against the board by not entering the stadium until the 12th minute.

And while McGregor admits he understands the frustrations, he insists they can help bring a feel-good factor back by performing well and winning games.

When asked about the planned protests, he said: “We haven’t really spoken about it as a group. Obviously, some of the boys will be aware of it, maybe some of the foreign lads not so much.

“The only thing we can control is that when we go onto the pitch, then it’s our intensity and our tempo that will impact the game.

“Obviously we would love the supporters to be in from the beginning, I understand the frustrations, which is fine because everyone has their opinion and has their own voice, the only thing we can control is the players on the pitch and hopefully we arrive into that game in the best way possible.

“We can also try to give the supporters some energy by our performances, by starting well, and then hopefully everything will start to pick up and come to life a little bit.







We can’t be affected by what’s happening off the pitch and let it affect our performance, because then it starts to snowball. We have to draw a line under it and get back to functioning and attacking in the way we want to.

“It’s the supporters that make the club what it is, they are putting their hard-earned money into the club, so of course I understand that they want to see the best possible team on the park.

“We all want to be at the highest level possible every year.

“It’s unprecedented in recent times, the level of noise and discontent amongst the supporters, all we can do is try to give them a team that they can be proud of and back on the pitch.”

A large part of the fans’ anger stems from what was seen as a disappointing end to the transfer window, which saw players leave without being adequately replaced.

But McGregor has been impressed by the new recruits and is confident that they can hit the ground running.




Speaking to the media on Friday, he said: “I think the squad is strong enough, having seen what I’ve seen this week in training, there is a real hunger and real desire from the guys that have come in.

“And they are actually at a good level as well. We have added some real pace and penetration at the top end, we’ve added a top striker, albeit he’s not played so much recently, but the early signs are good, he looks good, he looks hungry to be part of what we are doing here.

“So, I’ve been really encouraged by what I’ve seen in the last seven or eight training sessions over the break.

“Starting on Sunday, if we play well and start to gather some momentum then I think this team will really start to come together.”

 

There's no way he can actually believe the squad is strong enough after that window. He's wanting one of those jobs for the bhoys down the line.

 

Of course he doesn’t

 

Not really buying that.

 

Full quotes from Callum






Callum, how would you sum up the feeling amongst the playing squad after the break?

"Yeah, good actually. Training has been really good. Certainly in the last week, this week, obviously we've got the boys back together. There wasn't too many away on international, so that actually gives a good chance to sort of start working with the new guys, the group that are here. The boys have come in in the summer, just trying to drip feed the messages in about how we want to play and how we work and all these things. So that actually gives us a nice break to just sort of hammer home some of the principles and the way that we want to work."

How important is integration of the new players because you don't need me to tell you there's been so much focus on on players coming in. Maybe easy to forget that players actually did come in, how important is it you all provide an environment that they can hit the ground running?



"Yeah, well that's it. I think, you know, internally, us inside the building, inside the dressing room, you know, we have to galvanise a team spirit and bring the boys in, make them feel welcome because the minute they feel welcome and settled, they'll give us the best version of themselves and I'm always a big believer in that. You know, I talk about it every single season since the boys have come in. It's important that they quickly settle in. They feel like part of the team and then they'll give the best version of themselves, which ultimately helps the team on the pitch."





We obviously spoke numerous times during the window, and you said as well, you felt the squad needed strengthening. Is it strong enough? Did it come out the window strong enough for you?

"Yeah, I think so. I think, having seen what I've seen this week in training, certainly in the last week, there's a real hunger, there's a real desire for the guys that have come in and actually really good level as well. We've added sort of pace and penetration at the top end. We've added a top striker, albeit not played so much, but the early signs are good. He looks good, he looks hungry to be part of what we're doing here. So I've actually been really encouraged with what I've seen in the last sort of seven, eight training sessions over the break. I believe that if we start well on Sunday and we start to gather some momentum, I think the team will start to really come together."






Does the starting well on Sunday become impacted by a planned protest for fans to come in a bit later on? Is that something you've discussed? How do you and the players manage that, because you're the ones that will be running out there?

"Yeah, yeah, we haven't really spoken about it. You know, internally as a group, I think obviously some of the boys will be aware of it. Maybe the foreign lads not so much, but I think again the only thing that we can control is, you know, when we cross the white line and we go into the pitch then it's our intensity, our tempo that will impact the game. And obviously we would love the supporters to be in from the beginning. I understand the frustration and the plans etc., which is fine. Everybody's got their opinion of it, they've got their own voice and that's absolutely fine by me. The only thing that I can control therefore, is the players on the pitch and the team and how we arrive in that game, hopefully in the best way possible. And then what we can do is try and give the supporters some energy as well by the performances by starting well on Sunday and then hopefully carrying that through and hopefully the whole thing just starts to speed up and comes to life a little bit.




Does that involve speaking to your teammates beforehand, do you think, just to almost make them aware then, if they're not, of what's happening?

"Yeah, I'll probably mention it tomorrow. But I don't want to make it a bigger thing than than potentially what it already is, you know, it's like I say, the boys are on their phones constantly. Now they probably will have seen it by this point. But again, we can't be affected by that as in the performance because then it starts to snowball. 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. We've now got the bodies in that will hopefully help us. The squad's looking strong, everybody's looking hungry. So now it's about performance and winning games. And if we do that, then I've got no doubt the whole thing will come to life again."




Callum, you've got a strong relationship with the fan base as the captain. Is it something you can understand, this protest? Can you understand where they're coming from and and what would be your message to these fans that they might be doing that before the game, what's your message to them?

"Yeah, listen, obviously I can understand it. It's the supporters that make the club, you know, what it is. It's so special. It's synonymous with the support that they back the team. They're putting their hard-earned money into the club. So, of course, I understand it. They want to see the best possible team on the pitch that they can do. 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, and because it's them who are spending the money and trying to support the team, etcetera. So my responsibility is to try and give them the best product on the pitch that we can possibly do. And for me, my focus is on that and trying to bring them happiness through the football of the team.







I don't think there's been a point where the Celtic fans have been as angry and as mobilised. We're talking hundreds of fans groups with a vote of no confidence against the board. This is a difficult place the club finds itself in, isn't it?

"Yeah, like you said, I think it's unprecedented in sort of recent times. The sort of level of noise and discontent within the supporters and and again, the only thing I can echo is trying to bring that back by one, giving them a team that they can be proud of on the pitch, they can back on the pitch and ultimately, that are successful and win football matches. So I don't want to be dragged into the politics of it too much. Hopefully, with my influence and the senior players, then we can give them a product on the pitch that they're happy with and can get behind and then, as alway,s we keep pushing because we always want more. We always want to be in the highest level of competition. And obviously we're not this year, but then straight away my objective will, along with the players, is can we get back there as soon as we possibly can? So that means having a good domestic campaign and hopefully in 11 months' time we arrive into that qualifier in better shape and ready to hopefully make the next step again.








The anger obviously stems from the transfer window. Looking at it as a fan rather than a captain, scrambling for free agents at the end of the window. That's not how this club should be operating. Can you understand that even as a fan, never mind the captain, the club is bigger than that, surely?

"Yeah, but again, my job is to try and put my professional head on and try not to be dragged into that side of it. You know, I've got no doubt that if we find a goal in the Champions League, it's not anywhere near as noisy as what it is, and that comes back on the team as well. So we all have to take collective responsibility. If we can find a way to win that match, whether it be a goal in the last five minutes, you know, with a few chances, if we go through on penalties, then being at the highest level would probably silence a lot of that. I understand there's the window probably didn't go the way that the club wanted. There were some targets that we didn't get, etcetera. 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. And that's all as a captain, as a supporter, that you can hope for is that people learn the lessons from mistakes, players, coaches, managers, the board, etcetera. We all have to learn and get better. So again, from my point of view, we have to make the team as successful as we possibly can on the pitch, which will hopefully then start to bring the thing to life again."








Was it easy to switch off during the international break? Because that's when the problem was, there was that gap when the noise was loud?

"Yeah, yeah, but sometimes with these things, then it's better to just get on the pitch and, you know, hopefully in Sunday we go and we put in a good performance and win the game. And then the whole thing just starts to roll the same way as it would have done, I think like you said, the the fact there wasn't a game for for a couple of weeks, it sort of it gave a lot more talking time to everyone and sometimes that's not a good thing, but like I said, our focus now is trying to bring it back to let's draw a line under it. Let's everyone get back on the same page. The players deliver what we are paid to do, as well, is deliver performances and win football matches and then hopefully we can start to go on a run and bring it back to life again."