Clinical Callum is Bhoys’ big game hunter
McGregor thrives under intense pressure and is looking to strike again on a European night
It is not as glamorous as the Champions League but top teams are in it
THE higher the peak and the thinner the air, the more Callum McGregor seems to be at one with the world.
Since making his Celtic debut four years ago, the midfielder has scored 33 times across all competitions. Remarkably, nine of these have come in Europe.
Not only has he put flotsam and jetsam like KR Reykjavik, Alashkert and Suduva to the sword, he has bulged the nets of heavyweights including Ajax, Bayern Munich and Zenit St Petersburg.
Such a prolonged pattern of success owes nothing to coincidence or good fortune, of course. The bright lights of Europe’s big stages have some players longing for the shadows. For McGregor, it’s a platform where he evidently feels he belongs.
‘It’s just right place, right time,’ said the modest 25-year-old ahead of tomorrow night’s Europa League Group B match with Red Bull Salzburg. ‘I’ve managed to get some goals and maybe it’s because the style is slightly different.
‘The games tend to be more open than in Scotland. Both teams attack more. There is maybe more chance to find space in the box than I would get in the domestic game.
‘Teams are more camped in during league games and that can be difficult.
‘The more open the game, the more it suits our style of play. We can try to get overloads in the middle and get the boys wide to get crosses into the box.
‘Salzburg will be looking to attack as the home team, so it has the makings of a good game.’
As Celtic prepare to travel to the foothills of the eastern Alps, no one is under any illusion as to the size of their task.
Bankrolled by the deep pockets of energy drinks giant Red Bull, the local heroes won their league by 13 points last season, their fifth successive triumph.
Narrowly defeated in the semi-final of last year’s Europa League by Marseille, a loss on away goals in the play-off round of this year’s Champions League was not in the grand plan.
An eye-catching victory in Leipzig two weeks ago suggested they are now on something of a revenge mission.
‘Salzburg have always been a good team but everyone was a bit taken aback when they beat Leipzig,’ added McGregor.
‘They are a really top German team so for them to win was something we all took notice of.
‘This is an important game as we won the first game against Rosenborg and we want to build on that.
‘If you can win your home games and get a point or nick a win away from home, that stands you in good stead.
‘It’s important we follow those three points up by trying to get something.’
Four years ago, at the outset of Ronny Deila’s tenure, Celtic left the Red Bull Arena with a richly deserved point.
In what proved the Austrians’ only blip in a group including Dinamo Zagreb and Astra Giurgiu, the Scots twice surged ahead only to be pegged back.
McGregor, who played the entire match that September night, would bite your hand off for the same outcome tomorrow.
‘It was a really good game,’ he recalled. ‘Broony (Scott Brown) scored one that rolled down his shin from the edge of the box and Mubarak Wakaso got a really good finish.
‘Salzburg had a really good team back then and pressed high.
‘We know they are still a talented, attacking side. It should make for a good match.’
Truthfully, it’s not the environment either side wanted to find themselves in.
But if both camps had aspirations of pitting their wits in the Champions League, they are not alone.
The Europa League has its fair share of makeweights but, increasingly, its stock is on the rise.
Arsenal and Chelsea will have designs on being present for the final in Baku on May 29. As will AC Milan, Lazio and five-times winners Sevilla.
‘The Europa League isn’t as glamorous as the Champions League but there are top clubs in it,’ said McGregor.
‘When you get through the groups and go into the knockouts, it gets even better.
‘It’s a serious competition with big teams and I do think people look at the Europa slightly differently now.’
The near capacity crowd at Celtic’s opener against Rosenborg spoke to a renewed appetite for the tournament among the Celtic support.
As monumental an achievement as making the Champions League is, with each passing year there is a growing realisation that the chances of perennial pot-four teams making progress are somewhere between slim and zero.
The secondary competition is not so much of a contradiction in terms.
‘The Europa League is a lot more even in comparison to the Champions League,’ added McGregor.
‘You just need to look at our group and Rangers’ group. Both tough but, across the board, you are maybe thinking three out of the four teams have a chance.
‘It’s a good standard and then you have the bigger clubs taking it more seriously as it goes on.
‘The calibre of clubs is high, but you do feel you have more of a chance when you go away — in comparison to some Champions League groups.
‘When you play the
big-name teams, you need to take a step back sometimes and think: “We might need to change our game.”
‘With the Europa, you always feel you can go away and try to win games.
‘In the Champions League games, you maybe need to defend a bit more.
‘But we feel we have enough experience and confidence from the last few years that we can implement our game plan in the Europa League.’
With Brendan Rodgers’ side willing to have a go on the road at more renowned venues in the previous two years, it seems certain they will do so again tomorrow.
For McGregor, the chance to score against a tenth different European opponent is tantalising.
Were it to come to pass, though, it would do well to beat his personal favourite.
‘The winner against Zenit last season was probably the best I’ve scored in Europe,’ he recalled. ‘It was a good finish.’