‘Gaffer doesn’t hand out praise too often’: Celtic star glad to get love from Ange Postecoglou
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/gaffer-doesnt-hand-out-praise-too-often-celtic-star-glad-to-get-love-from-ange-postecoglou-4005850
The accolades and milestones just keep on coming for Celtic captain Callum McGregor.
Mark Atkinson
By Mark Atkinson
9 hours ago
The 29-year-old midfielder made his 400th senior appearance for the Glasgow club in the routine 2-0 win away at Dundee United and put in a typically assured, driving performance in Celtic’s engine room. To get to such a landmark at his age is no mean feat and his manager, Ange Postecoglou, could not praise him highly enough after the win at Tannadice. “We are all pretty privileged to share a dressing room with him,” the Australian said. “The greatest compliment I can pay him is that he plays every game as if it’s his first. He is an outstanding individual and a credit to himself and his family.”
McGregor is a humble individual and no doubt would have blushed had he been in earshot of Postecoglou when delivering such tributes to the press. The smile on his face was huge as he discussed hitting 400 and admitted it was nice to hear of such platitudes.
“It is always nice when people well about you, but the main guy you are trying to impression a daily basis is the manager,” said McGregor. “He is the guy who picks the team, he is the guy who is heading the club, so for him to say nice things is a really good feeling. We continue to work hard, do the right things together and, hopefully by doing that, we will have success.
Callum McGregor, far left, takes the acclaim from the Celtic support after the win over Dundee United.
Callum McGregor, far left, takes the acclaim from the Celtic support after the win over Dundee United.
“The gaffer doesn’t hand out praise too often, he likes to keep people on their toes. You know when you are doing well and when the manager picks you then you are doing something right. Sometimes when you praise people too much they become comfortable and he likes not letting that happen. It has worked well so far, so as long as we are winning and playing well then we are happy.”
McGregor played alongside his predecessor as skipper, Scott Brown, for years in Celtic’s midfield. The now Fleetwood manager is sitting on 672 matches for Celtic and McGregor is on course to surpass that as long as he can stay healthy. “That just shows you again how good he was for this club,” McGregor replied when told what Brown’s total is. “A real iconic figure who looked after himself and was an ever-present for the club. That’s massive numbers and it’s a huge testament to him. But I’ve still got enough time. Hopefully if I stay fit and keep playing well and being hungry to have success and do all the right things, who knows where I will be in five or six years time.”
Did McGregor think he would even get to the 400 mark? “Probably not in terms of the scale of it,” he admitted. “Of course, you take every game as it comes and, once you start to rack up these wee milestones, you realise you are doing something right, your preparation is good and your performance is good. So you just making more and, as long as I stay on that track and stay hungry and fit and healthy, I’m hoping to make a few more.”
Why Callum McGregor is really so key to Celtic – reasons laid bare for importance
The old saying of ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’ can certainly be applied to Callum McGregor.
By Mark Atkinson
Thursday, 21st October 2021, 10:30 pm
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/why-callum-mcgregor-is-really-so-key-to-celtic-reasons-laid-bare-for-importance-3428144
That’s the view of Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, anyway, when he sums up just how important the central midfielder is to his team.
Appointed club captain this summer after long-serving skipper Scott Brown joined Aberdeen, McGregor has been trying to drive Celtic’s regeneration on the pitch, being Postecoglou’s general and helping the transition between old and new.
The 28-year-old, however, missed a tranche of games in September, which coincided with a 4-3 Europa League reversal at Betis and dropped points in the cinch Premiership, a 1-0 defeat at Livingston and a 0-0 home draw with Dundee United. His hamstring injury was managed carefully and he is now back in the team, driving them on to wins – the latest being a 2-0 triumph over Ferencvaros to breathe new life into Celtic’s European campaign. Postecoglou is left in no doubt how key McGregor is.
“I said through that period that we needed to show resilience, but there’s no doubt we missed Cal,” said the Australian coach. “Any team would miss their leader, their skipper, and he’s such a fantastic player apart from that. He dictates the tempo out there, he drives the boys with his actions and his words.
“He’s an outstanding leader and I know he will become an even better leader as he grows into the role. He’s definitely an important part of it, like any leader would be in any team. No-one’s irreplaceable, but when you lose influential players like we did during the last period, it’s going to take a toll on a brand-new team. It wasn’t like we had ready-made leaders to step up.”
Postecoglou never questioned McGregor’s credentials to take the armband. “Leaders come in different forms,” he said. “ He’s probably not the typical, but the biggest thing you look for in leaders is ‘do people want to follow him?’ Do his actions match his words, does his behaviour match his demands for standards? And he does that. He lives and breathes football, he lives and breathes this football club.
“He took the penalty [against Ferencvaros]. That’s his job. He missed it but then he was back up looking for the ball again. That’s leadership for me. His words are very strong to the team before a game and at half-time. He’s dead set on making this club successful again.
While the Scotland internationalist’s qualities as a captain have impressed his manager, his ability has done so too. “He’s up there … with the ones I’ve worked with anyway,” Postecoglou added about how good a player he is. “Because what you look for are players in the tightest of areas – and he plays in that area – who always want the ball, are always looking, always trying to dictate the game.
“The way we want to play, that’s really important in the middle. He rarely gives the ball away. Nine times out of ten he makes the best decision in terms of the pass. There are plenty of passes you can make, options you can take, but invariably he always makes the right pass. And he works his socks off. So he is a good player, a fantastic player, but again, he is one that I think can improve.”
IN PRAISE OF CALLUM MCGREGOR
Posted by St Anthony | Sep 4, 2022 | Season 2022-2023 | 0 |
IN PRAISE OF CALLUM MCGREGOR
A few years ago, a colleague of mine had great interest in the Celtic youth team and took pleasure in attending their games and reporting back on the young Bhoys’ progress. Around 2013 he was waxing lyrical about one of the young players in the side named Callum McGregor. Joe assured me that this young man was extremely talented and that he would be the next big thing to break into the Celtic first team.
In 2013 Callum joined Notts County on loan, where it is said he outshone an even younger Jack Grealish, who was on loan to County from Aston Villa for that season in English League One. Callum finished the season as County’s top scorer with 14 goals, starring in an attacking midfield role. Neil Lennon had been Celtic manager when Callum had gone on loan but by the time he arrived back at Parkhead, Lennon had been replaced by Ronny Deila.
Lennon was not known for giving youth a chance when he was in control at Celtic, so Callum’s arrival as Deila took over the reins proved to be extremely good fortune. Deila clearly saw something in the young Celt, who at the age of 21 was now ready to make the step up to first team football. He made an immediate impact, making his debut against Reykjavik in Iceland, where he scored the only goal of the game. From that moment on, Callum McGregor became a regular first team squad player at Celtic.
I have to confess that Callum wasn’t what I’d imagined him to be. He was smaller in build than I’d anticipated from reading about his style of play. I had imagined someone in the Phil O’Donnell mould, and although at 5 feet 10 inches, Callum was not exactly small, he tended to be placed on the periphery of the side in the early days, out in the wide midfield areas.
Fate again was kind in the summer of 2016 when Brendan Rodgers was appointed as Celtic manager. Rodgers brought a level of professionalism to Celtic which had clearly been missing for a considerable period, and Callum immediately bought into Rodgers’ new ways of working. Rodgers was an admirer of the Welsh midfielder, Joe Allen, who he had at Swansea and Liverpool, and often compared Callum in style to Allen. The improvement was noticeable. The wee slight wide player was transformed into a mobile central midfielder who was capable of scoring vital goals in derby games, cup finals and European ties. And not just ordinary goals but often spectacular efforts which would live long in the memory.
Rodgers had plenty of options in Celtic’s midfield with Brown, Armstrong, Biton, Rogic, Roberts, Forrest and Henderson all vying for places in the middle of the park, but during his spell as Celtic boss, Callum McGregor was an integral part of all the success and the medal haul which came with it. Neil Lennon returned in early 2019 after Rodgers’ abdication and by this time Callum was an essential part of a highly successful Celtic set up. By 2020 Celtic had not only clinched 9 league titles in a row, but also an unprecedented 4 consecutive domestic trebles with Callum now a real fans favourite – ‘He’s like me and you, he loves Celtic too.’ McGregor was a hugely influential part of the 12 consecutive trophies which Celtic won – an unparalleled period of success within the Scottish game which will only be truly appreciated in the years to come.
The Covid lockdown season of 2020-21 is perhaps best forgotten. Games were really no more than training sessions in front of empty stadia, a soulless and miserable experience for everyone concerned. When crowds returned for season 2021-22 Celtic were in turmoil. Ange Postecoglou was appointed manager in late summer and had inherited a shambles with Celtic’s biggest assets, Edouard, Ajer, and Christie, all wanting away and influential captain Scott Brown retiring. Many expected Callum to move on too, Rogers being said to be extremely keen to take him to Leicester, but Ange persuaded him to stay, it’s said with the promise of the captaincy. And so Callum remained a Celt after a very troublesome period.
Many had reservations about him being appointed as Celtic captain. He was not in the Scott Brown mould as a leader, the aggressive, physical type on the field of play. Callum was more reminiscent of Paul McStay from times gone by, someone who would lead by example rather than physicality. Things hadn’t gone well for Paul as Celtic captain but that was a period in the past when the club had enormous problems at every level.
We need not have worried. After a transitional period when Ange’s new signings were still bedding in, the new Celts under captain Callum, found their form. I have to admit to feeling very emotional when Callum McGregor lifted the league cup in Decemeber2021. He had not only blossomed into a wonderful footballer but now also showed he was a great captain. The league title followed in May as the ‘masked crusader’ in the hoops led his side to further success. After injuring his jaw badly in January he showed immense courage in returning for the crucial Glasgow Derby victory in February, with a mask as facial protection. If anything, this gave Callum a great deal of added character as the fans took to seeing him with the mask on for a considerable period. Celtic won 3-0 on the night and went top of the table and there would be no looking back.
In my time, the truly great Celtic players for me have been Dalglish, McGrain, McStay, Lambert, Moravcik, and Larsson. What made them exceptional was not only the fact that they were wonderfully talented footballers, but they achieved a level of consistency of performance that few others could match. There may have been equally talented players throughout the years but what set those players apart was their high standards on the field of play on a regular basis. They rarely had a bad game.
I now genuinely believe that Callum McGregor is worthy of a place in that bracket. That’s how highly I rate him. For club and country he continues to display a tremendous level of consistency and performance, and has done for many seasons. He reads a game superbly and his range of passing is exceptional. It’s one of life’s great puzzles that the Scottish media continually rave about John McGinn and Billy Gilmour at international level when more astute observers know that Callum is Scotland’s best midfielder.
Callum McGregor has come a long way from the inexperienced youth on the fringes of the first team to being an essential part of a very impressive Celtic side. It is the great hope of every Celtic fan that our captain will lead us to further success in the weeks, months, and years, to come. Remember, not all heroes wear capes but some will occasionally wear a mask.
Celtic star hailed ‘ideal footballer’ as change of position gives Brendan Rodgers food for thought
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtic-star-hailed-ideal-footballer-as-change-of-position-gives-brendan-rodgers-food-for-thought-4437677
Celtic manager dishes out high praise after switch of roles in 4-1 victory over Hibs
Matthew Elder
By Matthew Elder
Published 7th Dec 2023, 22:30 GMT
Celtic captain Callum McGregor earned glowing praise from manager Brendan Rodgers as he rolled back the years in a more advanced midfield role in the 4-1 win over Hibs on Wednesday.
The Scotland international has been controlling games from the base of the Celtic midfield in recent years after initially making the breakthrough as a more attack-minded player in his early 20s which included a 14-goal season on loan at Notts County.
But with Tomoki Iwata handed his first start of the campaign against the men from Leith, it allowed McGregor, now 30, to turn back the clock as he dovetailed with Matt O’Riley in one of two more advanced positions in front of the deep-lying Japanese midfielder.
“I really enjoy watching him,” Rodgers said of his skipper. “He takes me back to my first time here. He’s such a special player for this team in so many ways, and for the club as a whole.
“From a psychological perspective, to have the desire, the mentality and the hunger to continually want to succeed is phenomenal really. I’ve played him in virtually every position bar goalkeeper and centre half in my two spells. He’s just tactically brilliant in the game.
“Putting him up one, you can see what he can do. He can get forward, he’s clever, he can link the game and he can get shots off. He’s got big quality to score goals – in my first time here, he was very, very good at that.
“I thought him and Matty were excellent against Hibs. Matt is so graceful around the pitch and played with big quality the other night. Tomo just stabilises it in there, to win the ball and play it simple.”
With Reo Hatate injured, and both David Turnbull and Paulo Bernardo struggling to hold down a regular place, Celtic fans could be plenty more of McGregor’s ability to play further forward in the coming weeks, particularly after Iwata showed up well in the anchor role against Hibs.
It has been in Rodgers thinking for some time.
“It would have happened before but he [Iwata] wasn’t available,” the Celtic boss explained. “Whatever the game needs, that’s something we will look at. He’s shown up very well in training and in the games where he’s come in, he’s done well.
“Against a good side like Hibs, you can see it’s something that can function well.”
On McGregor’s flexibility giving him food for thought, Rodgers added: “Because he’s so, so clever, you really only ever have to tell him anything once. You’re not having to repeat anything with him.
“He’s an absolutely incredible player and captain of the team. Whether he plays as an 8, an inverted full back, a controller, wherever, he plays the game to the highest level.
“He’s a brilliant example for the other players. If you talk about an ideal footballer, having mental strength and the ability to interpret different systems, being competitive, having quality and being physically brave, he’s all of that.
“He progresses the ball quickly – that’s the key for Callum. The ball comes through the pitch quickly, and when you want to play fast football that really helps.
“He’s the ideal footballer you would want in your team.”