Mcgregor reckons anyone who questions

As the heir apparent to Celtic captain, Scott Brown, Callum Mcgregor knows better than to upset the men at the very top of the Hoops’ hierarchy.

Even so, the Scotland international cannot help but take issue with majority shareholder, D er motD es mon d’s suggestion the club’s early European exits could be down to a mental block on the part of the players.

“I don’t think there is a psychological issue,” said Mcgregor.

“If you look at this team’s record in the last five or six years, it’s pretty good in terms of winning things.

“If you go back to the Europa League group games last season, against Rennes at home, and Lazio home and away, we got over the line there.

“So personally, I think the group’s in a good place. Of course, you’re always trying to get a 1% edge that can make the difference.

“It’s about each individual and what you think you need. For golfers, it’s an individual sport so it depends on the human being you’re dealing with, superstition and lots of other things.

“We seem to have a system here that works for us. We win big games, and we win trophies when they’re on the line.

“And no-one will ever shut the door on anything that might make us better. There’s always room for those types of conversations in sport.

“But in the main, this group is pretty strong mentally.”

Instead, Mcgregor argues the wounding exits were just examples of the sort of misfortune all footballers encounter from time to time.

“I know it is easy to say we were unlucky. But if you actually look at performances and results, you could think that is what we have been,” he continued.

“I look back at the crazy Cluj game, in which they only went up the pitch four times but scored on each of them.