The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hat-trick hero McGregor hoping to make vital contribution
sunderland 0 celtic 5
Callum McGregor hopes he can be the man to supply a crucial Champions League goal for Celtic after hitting a hat-trick in a 5-0 friendly win over Sunderland.
Celtic gatecrashed the Black Cats’ 20-year celebration of their Stadium of Light move by thrashing Simon Grayson’s side and giving themselves a lift ahead of their third qualifying round second-leg tie against Rosenborg in Norway.
McGregor was an unused substitute in the goalless first leg at Parkhead as Celtic toiled without injured strikers Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele.
The midfielder believes he could be the man to make the difference in Trondheim on Wednesday.
“I might be,” McGregor told Celtic TV. “Jamesy (Forrest) was excellent up front and I thought me and Scotty (Sinclair) linked up well, especially for my second goal. I thought we did well, so hopefully.
“I scored a hat-trick in the Youth Cup final when I was younger but that was my first in a senior game.”
Forrest moved into the centre after Tom Rogic struggled with the position on Wednesday.
Griffiths hopes to shake off a calf strain to make the team in midweek but manager Brendan Rodgers found another option in the shape of McGregor.
“Callum, I have said it before, is a top young talent and he will be very important for us in the season and you saw that. He also has the ability to score goals,” Rodgers said.
“We have that throughout the team. We showed it last season, we will show it this season and we hope we can show that over the course of the qualification phase.”