Inspirational Celtic captain Callum McGregor has been over the course and distance of a successful title chase so many times so he knows that the 3-0 win over theRangers on Wednesday night will count for very little if the next games against Motherwell and Aberdeen are not successfully negotiated and Celtic pick up maximum points. Indeed that will be the mantra from here on in and only then, if they are successful, will be be appropriate for The Celtic players to revel in their success.
Stay focused, keep our feet on the ground, get the job done ie the league won. That’s the message The Celtic players who arrived at the club this season and enjoyed their first win in a Glasgow Derby will be getting from the experienced players like Calmac.
“We’re a good group, we’re an honest group. We know where we are and we know how far we have come in a short space of time,” The Celtic captain told the media, as reported by Scottish Sun.
“We probably felt it was coming, we felt we were due it, but you still have to go and deliver and that is what we did. We’ll take the confidence from that, but we’ll not have any arrogance.
“We won’t think anything is done, because it’s certainly not. We have been over the course before, there will be a lot more twists and turns in the title race. All this does is give us a good platform.
“Every single game, we have to be at it, we’ve got to play like that every week if we can. To be honest, the manager will demand that anyway. He’s been absolutely first class since he came in. He’s really challenged the group and the boys have responded really well so far.
“It’s another challenge for us now to stay humble, keep working and don’t get above our station, because we haven’t achieved anything yet at all. That’s the job of the senior players, to get around the younger lads and make sure they keep working, keep performing and keep getting better as a team.”
The Celtic captain was asked if he was worried that the injury picked up at the Scottish Cup tie at Alloa might keep him sidelined for months. “Yeah, absolutely. When I came off I was in a bad place. It’s credit to the medical team, they got me seen pretty quickly and then it was just a case of waiting on it settling down.
“There was a lot of swelling, you’ll have seen the pictures and everything else, but I’ve just been trying to rest as much as possible and do the right things. My family have supported me really well and when I had half a chance to play in the game, I was more than happy to do that.
“There’s a break in two places so we just need to let it heal. The mask gives me the protection that it needs, so as long as it isn’t sore then I’m happy to play.
“Injuries happen in football but it was clear at the start of the week I had half a chance, and that’s all I needed to make it. I’ve got the mask that gives it the protection that it needs, so we’ll just let it heal and keep taking it day by day.
🗣️ “I knew every single one of them would play with a broken face if they had to.”
🎥 Celtic captain Callum McGregor on returning to the pitch with a double fracture in his cheekbone to play against Rangers.
Watch ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/vCekpYWH8P
— The Go Radio Football Show (@GoFootballShow) February 3, 2022
“There was no fear with it before the game. You know the situation, but when the game starts you just go into that mode where you don’t have any fear. The atmosphere, the adrenaline, everything is going and you just want to help the team.
“I said before the game that I just wanted to do everything I could to get myself on the pitch and help the team, and do that for the supporters. I know that every single one of them would play with a broken face if they had to, so why am I any different?”
McGregor also made an observation in the form of a joke but there’s a point to it. If you watch the Celtic huddle before the game Reo Hatate isn’t fully in there, and The Celtic captain reckons that maybe it would be an idea to have the Japanese translator at the club out on the pitch for the Huddle. All for that one Callum!
“I think we’re going to bring him in at one point! I don’t think they’ll have much chance of understanding my Glaswegian accent right enough, but the boys have been excellent.
“They’ve come in and adapted really well to the culture and they are great lads as well. They deserve all the success they get.”
Here’s Callum’s post match interview with Celtic TV in case you missed it.
