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McGregor dares to dream of taking on a lead role at club

NOMINATED by both his manager and the current incumbent, Callum McGregor admits he is flattered and excited at the prospect of becoming Celtic’s next captain.

A product of the club’s youth academy, the 27-year-old has developed into Scott Brown’s natural understudy for the role and is a mainstay in Neil Lennon’s midfield.

Assuming he is not lured away from Parkhead in the interim — and Brendan Rodgers’ interest in taking him to Leicester seems to have cooled — McGregor would be a natural choice to lead the club into a new era.

He said: ‘To hear the manager and Scott — two brilliant captains who have led this club so well — say nice things about me, I take a lot of pride in that.

‘Those guys have been a huge factor in this club for years, so for them to speak positively makes you feel good.

‘If the club ever took the decision to make me captain, I’d be delighted. It would be a hugely proud moment for myself to come right through the system and be captain.

‘That would be a dream come true in terms of the storyline of it.’

When McGregor first broke into the Celtic team in 2014 he had the bearing of a youth player. Next to Brown, he seemed a far less obvious candidate as a future captain than, say, Kieran Tierney, who would also make the breakthrough under Ronny Deila.

Still a very different kind of character, McGregor carries his own quiet air of authority that matches his diligent and intelligent performances on the park.

‘I was captain at a few different age groups but you can’t compare it because football can be a bit crazy when you’re younger,’ he continued. ‘Now, to be a first-team player at Celtic and a Scotland international, it starts to become real.

‘You start to grow into that role of playing proper professional football and understand a lot more about yourself.

‘When I went out on loan to Notts County, my thoughts were a million miles away from being captain.

‘I was just trying to get into the team. Over the last few years, I’ve grown in stature and we’re now at a point where people are potentially talking about it.

‘That just shows how good a journey I’ve been on from breaking through and reaching this point.’

McGregor laughs when the prospect of him pinning new signing Shane Duffy against the dressing-room wall is raised.

‘He’d probably headbutt me through the wall,’ joked McGregor. But he does concede to having a significant responsibility in helping new arrivals settle at Celtic.

A seasoned Irish international and fan of the club, Duffy requires minimal support in his new environment. However, in the case of new keeper Vasilis Barkas, the club’s senior professionals have been eager to lend some friendly advice.

‘It has probably been a big culture shock for him coming from Greece, just trying to settle in,’ said McGregor. ‘In modern football, there are a lot of different cultures in the changing room and it’s important for us Scottish players to try and help the boys settle.

‘On the football side of things, we have to educate some of the foreign lads on just how big the club is and the standards you need to set every single week.

‘But I think he has done really well and all the boys really like him too. He is a nice guy and has a really good personality.’