Callum McGregor

I’m being serious.

I’ve not seen a worse take on here in a very long time.

 

I'm proud of that one. Called him right away

 

Total bollocks

 

I like to call them uncomfortable truths.

Funny how I always seem to upset the same people on here.

How many log ins have you got mate ?

 

Teams just stick a man on him now or try to close him down quickly. So its not surprise he passes backwards a lot as he is given less room and less time on the ball when we try to play out from the back. Our players, centre backs especially, pass to him irrespective of whether he is free or not. Even yesterday Nygren at one point gave him a hospital pass right on the edge of our area.

The real issue for me is why we are so averse to actually changing things. If McGregor is being man marked then somebody else drop deep. Try and exploit it by allowing McGregor to push forward. See if his marker goes with him, drops off, follows the other midfielder. See where space opens up. Its mind numbing watching us pass to a man marked McGregor and seeing him inevitably lay back off to the defender and point up the field. If the opposition stuck 3 players on him we still try look to pass out from the back to him you sense.

 

Aye mate.....

 

I thought he was quite good yesterday tbh.

 

No, it's just you that runs like Jamesy.

 

We need to find someone to rotate games with him, so we don't run him into the ground. If it's Bernardo, so be it.

A lot of games coming up soon.

 

Did Engels not have a good spell there last year when Cal was injured, or did I dream that?

 

Amidst a 12-minute protest by the away support at Rugby Park on Sunday, Brendan Rodgers’ men dug deep and ground out a 2–1 win to keep them top of the Premiership table on goal difference ahead of Hearts.


Callum McGregor knows all about the Celtic collective — it’s been a defining feature of the club’s success through the years. Celtic's core strength has always been its unity. It’s one of the men in green and white’s unique selling points.

While the skipper would never dream of telling Celtic supporters how to act or react, one thing is clear: the off-pitch noise must not be allowed to infiltrate what’s happening on the field. Not on McGregor’s watch.

“There has to be unity,” said McGregor. “I can understand the supporters' frustration, and everybody’s got their own opinion. Everybody's got the right to voice their opinion — I’ve got absolutely no problem with that.

“I think this club is far stronger when everyone’s on the same page, everybody’s pushing in the right direction. That’s what makes this club special — the supporters and how they back the team. Over a long period of time, we’ve had success because of that.

“So I don’t want us to lose track of all the success that we've had, and why we've been successful. We have to continue that, because I think ultimately a club divided is not a good thing — for the team or for the club.”




McGregor revealed that, in today’s 24/7 world of social media, he hasn’t needed to spell it out to the new recruits that there’s obvious dissent among the support. As an elder statesman in the dressing room, McGregor knows his responsibility is to lead by example.

“I think everybody's obviously on social media, they're on their phones constantly, so I'm pretty sure everyone will have seen it,” said the captain. “The thing that the senior players and I have to do is set the tone, set the standards, set the level for the group — and try to make sure they don’t dwell on it too much.

“We have to make the group focus on performance. But also, as senior players, we can control a bit more than that. We have to control the energy in the group, keep everyone calm, and make sure everybody understands the role they’re being asked to play in the team.

“As long as everyone does that, then hopefully we’ll be successful, we’ll win games, and then everyone will start to feel better about things. That’s the job of the players — to bring the new guys together, keep everyone together, and win games.

“Having seen the training recently, there’s a real freshness, a real hunger to run and work hard — and then the quality to go with that will certainly help us.

“Now the window’s shut, we draw a line under what’s happened, and we all move forward with the one goal of trying to make the club and the team as successful as we can.”

Both the old and new guard grabbed the headlines on Sunday, as Daizen Maeda opened his account for the season and new signing Kelechi Iheanacho showed nerves of steel to tuck home an injury-time penalty, handing Celtic a precious three points in Ayrshire.

Maeda later revealed he had requested a transfer during the summer window — a request that was rebuffed by the club. There’s no chance of the Japanese forward downing tools or throwing a huff, however. Far from it. Not that the quiet assassin would ever complain about anything — he’s famously low maintenance.



No, no — Daizen is one of those characters who gives you 100 per cent, no matter what,” said McGregor. “On previous international breaks, he’s flown back on a Friday and played on the Saturday or Sunday.

“He’s one guy you can hang your hat on — he’s going to give 100 per cent until the day he does move on. To be fair, I think everybody expected that might happen at some point, considering he’s flown all the way across the world to play for this club.

“Daizen’s been amazing for the team, amazing for the club. He’s done so well, and I’m sure he’ll continue to do that. He doesn’t speak much, to be fair. You see it in his actions — how he dedicates himself to the team, flying back and playing the next day, all that sort of thing.

“He’s someone you can rely on. And being a senior player, he gives everything he’s got. He just loves playing football, to be honest. That’s the one thing we’ve all got in common.

“To go and fly to the other side of the world, play international football, and then fly back and play a day or two later — that shows you the commitment he has to the club.”

As for Iheanacho, McGregor remembers him well — the Nigerian striker scored for Manchester City against Celtic in a 1–1 Champions League draw at Parkhead in December 2016. Now, McGregor insists the 28-year-old forward has nothing to prove.

“Kelechi hasn’t played much in the last couple of years, but he’s someone with a top pedigree who’s played in one of the best leagues in the world,” said the skipper. "He looks good, he looks hungry — and that’s probably the biggest thing. He wants to do well. He’s had a real brightness about him since he arrived.

“If we can get him firing, he’s a top striker. We just need to get him playing games and hopefully scoring goals. He left his contract situation behind — that tells you he wants to play, he wants to be part of this. The way we are as a club — we want to play fast, attacking football. Hopefully, that suits him down to the ground.

“So, the quicker we can get him on the pitch, up to speed and scoring goals, the better. I think we’ll have a real asset on our hands. He’s got a top pedigree, he’s played in the best league in the world, and he’s scored a lot of goals. The manager obviously knows him really well, too, so he’ll know exactly how to get the best out of him.

“From what I’ve seen so far, the early signs are very, very good.”

A Celtic united? That is key for the champions moving forward. The likes of Maeda and Iheanacho have certainly got that memo.

 

Sure it was Bernardo that played his position.

 

We've already signed his replacement, he's neat and tidy with his passing, keeps it safe & doesn't give it away....

...Michel-Ange Balakwisha.

 

He speaks so well in the media.

 

Has been a truly brilliant captain for us since taking over from Brown. When you think how massive Brown was a Celtic captain and that the transition to McGregor has been absolutely seamless it just shows you what an incredible job McGregor has done as Celtic captain both on and off the field.
I do have to say I feel now though that he is beginning to slow down. I think we need to see him given more breaks and for now Bernardo starting as the 6 in more games. Plus I also think we need to start looking at succession planning when it comes to McGregor.

 

Hmm, maybe I was thinking of Reilly having stepped in there a few years back.