Mcgregor wary of danger man Mcginn

● Midfielder sees Hibs man as a big threat after almost ending Celtic’s unbeaten record

Ce l t i c mi d f i e l d e r Ca l l u m Mc G r e g o r an d hi s te a m - ma te s wi l l g i ve Hi b e r n i a n the utmost respect when the teams meet in t he f i rst B etFred Cup semi- final tomorrow lunchtime.

Three weeks ago Neil Lennon’s side came closer than a nyo ne e l s e t h i s se a s o n t o ending the Invincibles’ undef ea t e d se q u e n c e ag a i n s t domestic opp osition under Brendan Rodgers ( which now stretches to 59 games) during a 2- 2 draw at Parkhead.

Jo hn Mcgin nh a d s c o r e d fo r t h e se c o n d t i me to p u t the visitors 2- 1 ahead i n the 77th minute only for Mcgregor to match that total three minutes later and salvage a point.

Mcgregor had also scored th e 79 t h mi nu t e eq u a l i s e r in the 1- 1 draw at home to St Johnstone in August but he cl a i ms t hat he fe a r e d t he ir re c o r d wa s sl i p p i n g aw ay against Hibs.

“Yo u lo o k a t wh e n we played against Hibs recently when they went 2- 1 up with 13 minutes to go and prett y much ever yone in the stadium looked at each other and t hought: ’ This could be t he one…’ But we got back in the game and scored and might e ve n have had ap e nal t y as well.

“We know how go od t hey are. You only need to look at the great game they gave us at Celtic Park. I’m sure it will b e th e sa m e o n Sa t u r d ay. Both teams are at the top of t hei r game, so i t s hould b e exciting.”

Mcgregor also had no hesi ta t i on in p i np o i nt i ng Mcginn, pictured, as the player most likely to pose problems fo r Ro d g e r s ’ si d e tomorrow.

“He ’s a to p pl a y - er and he got a couple of goal s at Cel ti c Park, which wi l l b e gr e a t fo r hi m ,” h e claimed. “We know he’s a big player for them – he has been for a couple of seasons – and he’s certainly one we’ll need to watch.”

Ironically, just five days after that draw in Glasgow, nationa l te a m ma n a g e r Go r d o n Strachan elected not to use either player and they were frustrated spectators on the be n c h a s S c o t l a n d d r e w 2- 2 i n S l ove ni a t o e n d t heir hop es of cl ai ming a World Cup playoff place. “Ob v i o u s l y, I th i n k bo t h o f us woul d have loved to get on the pitch but th i n g s l i ke th a t h a p p e n i n football; you just take it on the chin and move on,” he said.

Mcgregor was an unused substitute again when Celtic were handed a footballing lesson by Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena and he admits it was difficult to watch as the Bundesliga champions won 3- 0 while easing up.

“Of course it’s tough, espe - cially when you go to t hese bi g , b i g c l u b s a n d s e e how they pass the ball and move it,” he said. “They’re on a different level so it’s hard for us to go there and compete with that.

“But we’re always tr ying to make steady progress, we’re gr a d u a l l y i mprovi ng a n d I know that, eventually, we can get to that level – and go toeto- toe with them.

“We learn from that type of game, seeing the level these g uys ar e a t a nd we hop et o get closer to that; as a team, as individuals, we want to be able to test ourselves properly against these teams.

“Ever y t hing i s up a notch; t he l evel of pl ay, t he quick - ness of the game and ever ything else but, the more you play at this level, the easier it becomes, especially the home games, when you have all the fans behind you. That makes it slightly easier for you to go and get after teams.

“When you are away from home it ’s di f f erent b ecause you have to hang in there, test your resolve and maybe hit on the counter or whatever. Ultimately, it’s a big test for where we are at the minute, and where we came from last season.

“We went to Barcelona and it was a tough night there [ in the 7- 0 defeat] but these are all learning experiences for us as a group; we’re relatively new to this stage.

“O f co u r s e , yo u ne e d t o learn – that’s part and parcel of the game. You watch these top teams and you watch the best players, you learn from them and take it into your own game.

“That’s why we believe we can get there, especially the way the manager wants us to play. We’ll become more and mo r e co n f i d e n t p l ay in g i n these big games.

“You saw it at the tail end of last year when we went and put in a great p erf ormance at Manchester City, and then we went to Germany and put a great performance in [ against Borussia Monchengladbach].

“I think you can see a steady improvement all the time.”

Mcgregor was a signed professional when Lennon was in charge at Parkhead but he has no doubt t hat t he Iri shman will be desperate to end Rodgers’ hopes of another treble.

“I was a bit younger when he was the development squad manager,” he said.” Then he took the first team job and I was in and around it, but never quite got the chance to play.

“H e wi l l b e de s p e r a t e t o make it to the final. You look at him when he was at Celtic as a player and he had that knack for doing it on the big occasion. Obviously, he will set his team up well to tr y to give us a good game.

“We’ll need to lo ok at that, se e wh a t th e y ar e go i n g t o br i n g t o th e ta b l e an d combat it.”