Eddy and Broony are big Bhoys.. they’ll handle the heat
McGregor: A cuddle in the huddle is all our big two need to succeed
IN football parlance it’s called team spirit. For Celtic it’s the huddle effect.
When a team-mate is in need of a pick-up there’s a dressing room full of comrades to do the job.
Odsonne Edouard and Scott Brown might be at opposite ends of their career but both are equally important to their side’s hopes of 10 in a row.
So when stick has flown in their direction at times this season Callum McGregor insists Celtic’s band of brothers was quick to get round them. Not that either particularly needs an arm round the shoulder.
The duo were key in Thursday’s 1-0 win over Sarajevo that secured a 10th successive European group stage campaign for Celtic.
And with 10 up for grabs on a domestic level too McGregor couldn’t overstate the importance of having them both firing on all cylinders.
And the Scotland midfielder is praying the Frenchman is still in the Hoops when Monday’s night’s transfer deadline passes. McGregor said: “That’s always the danger when there’s a couple of days away from the end of the window, you don’t want these things unsettling players.
“The best business we can do is hold on to our best players, so hopefully that’s the case come Monday night.
“We always know that if he gets a half chance you’re always going to back him to score. He maybe took a little bit of stick last week but it’s our job to get around him and keep him happy and keep him confident.
“You saw just how important he is to us again on Thursday night. He gets the goal that takes us to the group stage, so again he’s showing just how vital he is to the squad.
“He’s actually been in good spirits. I don’t think he takes too much notice of what goes on around about him. He’s just a good guy and he’s always very happy.
“Our job as team-mates and as players is to keep everyone happy. We’re trying to keep everyone positive and that brings the best out in players to go and give their best on the pitch, which ultimately helps each other.
“We’re a tight group of guys. We’re always getting round each other to make sure we’re all good, happy, and that we keep performing.
“It’s just a case of doing that with Odsonne as well. We get around him and then he delivers for the boys like he did on Thursday night.”
Brown has also come in for flak this season. Having turned 35 some feel the legs aren’t there for another epic Premiership title fight.
But few know the Hoops captain better than his midfield partner McGregor. And he is in no doubt the veteran is as fit as ever and will play a vital role over the next eight months.
McGregor said: “He’s absolutely immense. He’s 35 but he’s probably the fittest in the team.
“He drives everybody on. He’s absolutely excellent. His influence for us never ever wavers.
“Sometimes, as he’s getting older, people just see one missed tackle maybe or maybe one change of pace that’s not right in the game, and because of his age they try to throw that at him.
“Playing in there beside him, I can tell you that he hasn’t lost a yard. He’s always the fittest guy on the pitch. He’s the fittest in training and he drives the standards.
“He’s been excellent but certainly in the last couple of games he’s really shown his mettle again and shown why he’s such a top player.
“We’re obviously very close, we’ve been here for a lot of years together to get that bond.
“Playing with him in the middle of the pitch, we’re always looking at each other to balance off.
“If he doesn’t get one then I’ll get it and if I miss one then he’ll get it. You develop that bond and we seem to have a good understanding in the game, which is excellent.
“He’s just been a leader from day one and he’s driving that through the whole squad.
“If you don’t watch that and learn from it then you’re missing a trick in my book.
“Everything he does, I watch it and try to learn from it. He’s been an incredible influence on me.”
Thursday’s win in Bosnia took care of the latest leg of the European campaign, something McGregor insists is important for the stature of the club, and for the players to be playing in the best competitions. But
tomorrow it’s back to the bread and butter of the league and a trip to face struggling St Johnstone.
And the midfielder will be taking nothing for granted.
He said: “We look at these periods between the international breaks and break them into sixes or sevens.
“Our aim was to try to win all seven in this run, so we’ve got one more to go and we need to try to do that on Sunday.
“It’s always difficult when you travel back from European games and you have to be on the money come a lunchtime kick-off, but that’s what we need to do.
“We need to recover well and we need to be ready to go on Sunday.”