I took last season personally so I wanted to prove it was a one-off - then come back & create our own history as a new group of players ...that was the big challenge
SAYS
Even now, the emotion of it is etched on Callum McGregor’s face.
The Celtic captain is on the cusp of lifting the Premiership title and sealing a domestic double for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
But it might only be when he actually holds the trophy aloft that the memory of last season is erased. And you know what?
For the Parkhead skipper it’s that pain of a year ago which will make this success all the sweeter.
As a Celtic player – and supporter – McGregor was hur t by the capitulation of their 10-in-a-row bid.
While they self-imploded, Old Firm rivals Rangers romped to the league flag unbeaten.
At first, the Scotland midfielder took it badly.
But scoring for his country at the Euros, followed by Postecoglou’s arrival in Glasgow, quickly got his head back in the game.
And there was only one thing on McGregor’s mind going into this current campaign – to put matters right for the Hoops.
If Celtic beat Rangers today in the final derby of the season, they’ll be all but confirmed as champions.
For the 28-year- old it will be the high point of his career.
It will also vindicate his decision to stay and lead boss Postecoglou’s revolution at the club, as well as lifting the guilt for what happened last term.
McGregor said: “I took it personally last season – what we went through as a club.
“Not in terms of being really down. I had the Euros and got the goal so I came back full of confidence.
“But you take it personally in terms of it being a really bad season for the club and everything else that went with it. There was a load of press surrounding it.
“Boys left (Scott Brown, Kris Ajer Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard) and it was the end of an era, a successful team.
“Everybody t hen a sk s , ‘Can they go again, can HE do it again?’ That was the question off the back of a poor season.
“So I wanted to come back and show people it was a one-off and that we could go again.
“I wanted us to be a successful team in our own right.
“I didn’t want it to be Brendan’s [Rodgers] team or [Neil] Lennon’s team or Broonie’s team, whatever.
“We had to create our own history as a new group of players. That was the biggest challenge. It was a fresh start, a clean slate and a chance to prove people wrong again. “That bit of the season was real ly difficult but when it was f inished, it was about getting it out of our system.
“When the new players and manager came through the door, I thought, ‘They fancy this.’ You could see it in their eyes.
“They’ve obviously been brilliant so far and it’s just about us staying calm now and finishing the season in the right manner.”
That means a win over Rangers in front of their own supporters, which would prompt a title party even if it’s not off icially done just yet. McGregor has already won six league winner’s medals but this one would be the most special, as he’ll be wearing the armband to collect it.
For a boy who was farmed out to Notts County on loan nine years ago, it will be just reward for the graft he has put in to become Celtic’s leader.
He said: “Would it be the pinnacle of my career to lift the trophy as captain? Absolutely.
“Just to captain the club is a massive honour anyway.
“Every time I go on the pitch I give everything for the club, for the supporters, for my team-mates.
“If we can finish it off and make it a successful season by lifting the league trophy, it would be a dream come true. It would be the culmination of the hard work I have put in, even going back to my younger days.
“You try to map out your career and everyone has ups and downs.
“But they hopefully make you a better player and a stronger person.
“And if I can get a moment like that, it would make it all worth it.”
There’s no doubt McGregor’s relationship with Postecoglou has been key to Celtic’s progress this season.
From the moment he met his new Aussie gaffer, he was convinced the club would get back on track.
He was impressed by the class he showed in giving him the captaincy.
And when the team’s new style of
play was questioned during a ropey start to the Premiership campaign, a victory at Pittodrie in October was the catalyst for a title charge.
McGregor said: “When the manager was appointed, he texted me straight away when I was at the Euros.
“He reached out and when we met for pre-season, we both really liked each other.
“The players liked the vision he had, he laid out his plans for the team and it rolled on from there.
“He’s a classy guy and I felt at ease right away.
“I wanted the captaincy on my own merit. I wanted him to come and see me for himself, see what I was all about.
“It would have been easy for him to announce it straight away. But the want to play for. He always talks about way he did it was spot on. when you’re a young kid playing
“Because when I went back to Celtic, football at seven years old – what I wanted to impress him by how I went did you want? about my business. “You wanted loads of
“I was trying to lead in terms of touches on the ball, you my performance. wanted to be attacking,
“He had to see that for himself feeling good about playing because coming in as manager, he football. could have signed anyone he wanted. “He’s taken us back to that
“But if he looked at me and thought seven, eight or nine-year-old I was the right guy for the job, I got who is just desperate to play. it on merit rather than him taking “That’s his philosophy the easy option. and he has implemented it
“The style he wants to play naturally to a really high standard. suits the way I want to play too. “Of course, there was an
“Very quickly, you could see he was adjustment period and we a top manager. He’s a manager you tried to minimise that as
TENS AND NERVOUS Lennon’s 10-in-row bid ended badly much as possible. At the end of September we knew as a group that if we wanted to win the league we’d pretty much have to be perfect. “Even when we were drawing or losing, you could see we had the makings of a good team. “But we needed a big result to give us a bit of belief and make us feel good about ourselves. “The Aberdeen win away from home was a big moment for us.
“We knew then we could go to a difficult venue, play the manager’s style – and win. “That gave us the belief to kick on and be successful.”