Callum hails old boss as he signs new deal
MICHAEL GANNON
THE new contract was a view to the future but Callum McGregor couldn’t help but take a moment to look to the past.
The Celtic midfielder this week penned a new four-year deal that ties him to the club he loves until 2021.
And while McGregor is looking forward, he admitted his mind was cast back to the days when Tommy Burns brought him into the Parkhead fold and set him on his way to becoming a homegrown hero in the first team.
McGregor, 24, said: “Tommy was a massive influence for me coming all the way through.
“He would be at first-team training during the day then come to supervise us at 6pm. We would still be there at 10pm practising free-kicks. He wouldn’t let us go home. He was just that kind of guy, he loved football dearly.
“I signed the new contract the other day in the little room just off the boardroom and that was the first time I’d been in there since the day I sat there with Tommy and my parents to sign my first pro-youth contract at the age of 13.
“It was a nice feeling. I felt a bit emotional. I texted my mum and she said it was nice to see how far I’ve come in the years since. It’s a proud moment to tie my future down at the club where I’ve spent the bulk of my career.
“To come through from age eight means something to me. There aren’t many left from the same era and it just shows what you can do if you work hard and have the right support.”
McGregor has come a long way in 16 years. He can recall his first day like it was yesterday but it’s only in the last 12 months he has felt he’s truly made it.
He said: “I remember driving with my dad in the car. We were at a development centre and they all came together for the trial at Cumbernauld Juniors.
“I remember driving away from the game then coming back for another on the Saturday. Before that five or six of us were signed into the pro youth system. I was always playing games as a young kid but then when I moved into Celtic I started ball-boying.
“I did all the big Champions League games. I remember the Shunsuke Nakamura free-kick against Manchester United. I was on the sidelines that night to the right of the dugout.
“It has been a progression ever since I broke into the first team, step by step. Last season and the game at Ibrox when I scored against Rangers, that was probably the moment when I thought, ‘You know what, that’s me here.’
“Everybody begins to give you respect as a first-team player. Your team-mates respect you as well.”
McGregor hasn’t been an overnight success. It has been a gradual progression for the versatile midfield man but he’s enjoying the view after climbing his way to the top.
He might be one of the unsung heroes with the Hoops but he’s content to let players such as pal Kieran Tierney hog the headlines as he lives the dream.
He said: “Being from the east end of Glasgow it is a massive thing for me. The fans are always on about Kieran but I’m just happy to go under the radar.
“I’m enjoying every minute of it here. I love the fans, I love the club, the manager is brilliant, it is a great place to be. I’m happy to get my contract signed and keep going.”
It says it all about McGregor’s role these days that plenty of Celtic fans reckoned he should have been involved against PSG. Instead he had to watch his team-mates suffer a stuffing.
But Celtic recovered from a beating in Barcelona last season and McGregor is looking for a similar bounce.
Ross County are at Parkhead today and the playmaker added: “The result in Barcelona last season galvanised the group. We knew we had a target to achieve and that’s the same this season.
“We will learn from the experience and kick on and that will make us a stronger group. They are top players. That’s the level the Champions League is and for us to get to that level there is more to give and so much more to learn.”