I felt a bit emotional penning my new deal in room where Burns first signed me
SAYS CALLUM McGREGOR
SIGNING a new Celtic contract, Callum McGregor was transported back in time. To the panelled Parkhead office where he penned his first deal at the age of 13. And the guiding hand of the late Tommy Burns on his shoulder.
‘When I signed the new contract I signed it in the little room just off the boardroom. It was the first time I’d been in there since the day I sat with Tommy and my parents to sign my first pro-youth contract,’ he reflected.
‘Because it was the first time I had been back in the room it was a nice feeling.
‘I actually felt a bit emotional at the time. ‘I texted my mum and mentioned it to her and she said it was nice to see how far I have come in the years since.
‘It’s a proud moment for me to tie my future down at the club where I’ve spent the bulk of my career.’
McGregor’s links with Celtic stretch back 16 years. By the end of his new deal in 2021, he’ll have spent over half of his life donning a green and white shirt to play football. The journey which began at the home of Cumbernauld Juniors in 2001 is not over yet.
‘I still remember the trial, driving to it with my dad at the age of eight,’ he added.
‘Brian Meehan was the head of youth, Mark Millar was the coach and Tommy Burns was over-seeing it.
‘I was actually a left-winger back in those days, a tricky winger. ‘I don’t know where that went… ‘But 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.
‘To come through from the age of eight means something to me.’
Left-back Kieran Tierney has become the poster Bhoy for the younger fan, the kid who would be travelling to games on a Wishaw Emerald Supporters bus if he wasn’t playing for his boyhood idols.
McGregor, by contrast, tends to ‘sail under the radar’ (his own words), rarely attracting the plaudits his progress deserves. Yet his Celtic roots run deep, from east-end boy, to ball boy, to first-team regular.
‘Celtic is pretty much all I have known in terms of football,’ he added. ‘Being from the east end of Glasgow it is a massive thing for me. The fans are always on about Kieran. But I am just happy to go under the radar.
‘I am 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. Everything is going well. ‘I’m from Easterhouse originally, then we moved to Springboig.
‘I was always playing games as a young kid, but then when I moved into Celtic at nine or ten I started ball-boying at Champions League games.
‘I did all the big Champions League games.
‘I remember the (Shunsuke) Nakamura free-kick against Manchester United in the Champions League (in 2006).
‘I was on the sidelines that night to the right of the dugout.’
His proximity to the Champions League action is closer these days. He failed to start Tuesday’s defeat to Paris-Saint Germain, but is highly valued enough to join Scott Brown and Jozo Simunovic in signing a new Celtic contract. When Brendan Rodgers arrived, it was natural to fear McGregor might not make the cut. Natural, but quite wrong.
‘It’s been a progression ever since I broke into the first team, step by step,’ said McGregor.
‘I probably think of 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.’
Resting on laurels is not an option. A 5-0 thrashing by PSG was a humbling, sobering experience for Celtic’s players. Inflicting results of that magnitude on domestic rivals is not unusual. Being on the receiving end is. The French side didn’t play a different game; they played a different sport.
‘I was a wee bit disappointed that I wasn’t involved, but there are plenty of games,’ added McGregor. ‘There are 60 games a season, so I’m sure I’ll be playing in other games. I have just got to take it on the chin and move on and try and do well in training and get in the team again.’
The enjoyment of Celtic’s European embarrassment by some of their SPFL rivals is natural, but could be misplaced. A 7-0 defeat in Barcelona in the opening game of last season’s Champions League had little or no impact on domestic form.
Moussa Dembele could be back in the team for the visit of Ross County today, with Dedryck Boyata still to return. In Scotland — as in Europe — the gulf between the haves and the have-nots remains unbridgeable. ‘The result in Barcelona last season galvanised the group and we knew we had a lot of work to do, but at the same time we couldn’t let it affect us in terms of the domestic stuff,’ added McGregor. ‘We knew we had a target to achieve and that’s the same this season.
‘We will learn from the experience and kick on as a group and that will make us a stronger group.’