Callum McGregor

A poor 6/10. His lowest score in over 20 years of football.

 

Worrying thing about it is that if he struggles then the whole team seems to struggle

 

Hopefully as you say it's just a bit of rust and maybe being 30 now he needs a little bit longer to get up to speed.

But had flash backs to Brown in his later days today. Struggled when he was getting pressed and didn't seem to have that yard of space he always finds. Must of got caught out with man on his blind side 3 or 4 times today which is so unlike him as he's usually always got such great awareness

 

Worst I can remember him playing.

Speaks volumes about his consistency that a below par performance is so noticeable.

 

He’s been below par during pre-season as well tbh. Looked a couple of yards off it recently.

Think it’s a fair point to say that although he is only 30, he’s played a * of a lot of football. Can’t expect him to be as good as he usually is. Might see him burning out earlier than others.

Absolutely need to rotate him this season.

 

Getting a disclaimer in first. I AM ABSOLUTELY NOT RIGHTING CALMAC OFF IN ANYWAY HERE...

Was listening to Allan Morrison (Celtic by Numbers guy) on ACSOM on Friday there. He was talking about an over reliance in Calmac, mins/games played by him. How we over relied on Brown, the decline in him and how we left it to late in terms of a replacement. Basically he was of the opinion that we should look to get a replacement in soon with a view of integrating them in to the squad, opposed to leaving it till he's 35.

Like you, just it's probably just rustiness than anything else. Def need a strong box to box midfielder in to help the side and Cal though.

 

We've already started doing this imo, step up young Odin Thiago Holm.

 

He was dreadful.

 

Time will tell. Let's see how he is by Xmas. Not wanting to put a massive pressure on him at such a young age. But encouraging signs so far and he seems to embrace it.

 

Yeah of course not to put undue pressure on the lad. Just looks to me like he's absolutely perfect style-wise to be Cal's understudy. 100% has the confidence!

 

He was better second half when Hatate was on. They were linking up quite well and had started to control the game better I felt. We struggled the last 20mins when Hatate went off, even though I felt Holm done well when he came on.

 

Everything that Celtic captain Callum McGregor said to the media after the 3-1 Premiership win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie

Does it always feel like a big win when you come here and you are victorious?

It’s not that many times we sit here having been comfortable. We knew that and we spoke about that this morning. It’s always a tough game, they’ll get the crowd involved while the pitch was sticky as well. It’s obviously something they’ve looked at, trying to slow the game down and slow our quality. All of these things, we never want to be a team that makes excuses, we want to come here and beat what’s in front of us. So, it was excellent from that standpoint. Week by week the football will get even more slick the boys will get fitter, stronger and then we just continue from there. It's a brilliant start in terms of two wins from two plus a really difficult away game and to come away with three points is excellent.

The manager was talking about wins at places like that and that it builds spirit and togetherness and then the football will come, do you agree?

Exactly the same. It’s been that way for as long as I’ve been involved in the first team. You look at two years ago when we came here with the manager, massive win and the group just kicked on from there. So, the manager now is exactly right. It builds resilience, it builds character. These are always games where you can drop points. So, to come away with maximum points is excellent.

Can you see this team kicking on again?

I think so. When you have a new season and a new start, five or six players have joined you, it starts to have a new group feeling and at the start of every season, you start with zero points. So to come here, it’s a massive win and it’s one you tick off. It builds resilience, it builds confidence and the football does get slicker. There were still some really good moments in that game and, make no mistake, we battled well. We could’ve come out of here with a 5-1 with the amount of chances we created. We don’t want to forget about that – but it’s just about being ruthless in those moments. Again that will come with time and games throughout the season. It's about the boys finding that sharpness and things like that. I thought the goals we scored today were at really good times and really ruthless. So, we’re on a good path and we continue to work.

How impressed were you with Nawrocki, Yang and Holm?

I thought Rocki was outstanding in the game and then the other boys came on, they were excellent as well. It’s always tough here, 20-25 minutes to go and you’ve got to come on and be part of the team, be part of the group and how your personality, show your mentality. I thought it was excellent for the three of them. Everyone, Welshy coming on at half time, outstanding performance. Calmed the game down, and saw the passes. So it’s a real collective effort and it has to be every time you come here. You can never ever carry passengers. You have to have nine, 10 at it to make sure you win the game. First and foremost, that is the objective, to come here and win. Then some of the football also was really good. We could’ve scored two or three more goals and made the game comfortable. When it’s 2-1 they are always in the game and you have to defend strongly, which we did.

Is it satisfying as captain to see the fight/togetherness in the squad?

Exactly. That is part of the game, you have to look after each other, you have to look after yourself. When you cross the line, you have to be together, especially in a Celtic team. Everyone is trying to beat you and you have to have that sort of siege mentality. To see that two games into the season is outstanding. But that is something that will progress and we will get better at it as the season goes on. There is a lot of football to be played, there is a lot of tough away games to be played, that type of character and resilience and togetherness should hopefully stand is in good stead.

There are a few no players in the team but two guys who seem to have picked up from where they left off last year are Kyogo and Matt O’Riley, what did you make of them today?

Kyogo’s finish is outstanding and, to be fair, even Matt’s finish at the end there, on a sticky pitch was good. That is a tough finish as well. They are two players who have been outstanding for us. They set the tone at the top of the pitch. Matt is a fantastic footballer who is just getting better every week. They are two massive players for us and it is great to see them in good form as well.

Do you think other teams will struggle at Pittodrie?

Yeah, it is always a tough game here. Teams will come here and struggle, especially when they get the crowd involved in the game. They are very direct in their approach, the two boys at the top end of the pitch are a handful. Make no mistake, they will be a good side here. Credit to the manager for turning things around. Their home form has been pretty good.

Stephen Welsh showed he still has a lot to offer and has a future here, didn't he?

I thought he was outstanding when he came on. He really calmed the game. He saw the pictures and could see the passes and that settled us and got us playing into our rhythm. I think Stephen has been outstanding, especially as an academy product. It is always difficult. You come in, you play well, you drop out of the team, you come back, and you drop out of the team again. You have to be resilient, especially as an academy player. It is always easy for the club to go and buy players and it is a real challenge for the home-grown ones. But Welshy’s attitude has been outstanding and his quality is getting better. He is growing in stature. He is a player who can be really important for us as well.

 

Very good point you make about the number of games he has played. While at 30 he should still have a few good years left he really has played an insane number of games when you add in internationals as well over the past 5-6 years so it might be a case that he is a player that we actually really need to give a rest to at times this season.

 

He's only human. Let's see how the next few games go.

 

I switched streams cause I thought mine was a fake

 

He was well off it first half. But stormed into it when Reo came on, both linked well with those short little passes that broke their press.

 

Cal shouldn't be immune to criticism he's been poor this season