Brendan Rodgers confesses having Celtic man in squad played huge part in returning to club

Manager lauds captain’s influence on his team ahead of Rangers showdown

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says that the presence of his captain Callum McGregor played a huge part in the Northern Irishman returning to manage the club.

Rodgers took over from Ange Postecoglou last summer to start a second stint at Celtic Park after a trophy-laden three seasons between 2016 and 2019. The Northern Irishman, who left Celtic for Leicester City to end his first spell at the club, leaned heavily on McGregor during that time and he revealed that knowing the calibre of player and personality at the club made his decision to come back easier.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Old Firm match at home to Rangers, Rodgers said on McGregor: “It was one of the big factors for me coming back. I’ve got to be honest, knowing that he was here, because he was absolutely phenomenal for me in that first season. The number of positions he played for. His view of the game is that the very highest ever. I’ve been lucky to have worked with some great captains, some brilliant captains. He’s right up there with them.

Brendan Rodgers has hailed the contribution of his captain Callum McGregor at Celtic.

“All captains do it in different ways. For me, just to see his growth as a player and as a personality on the field … to captain a club like Celtic you need to have big personality on and off the pitch but you also need to have the humility and what’s what always strike me with Callum.

“He’s an absolutely brilliant player. He was majorly influential in me coming back here. To work with someone like that, knowing what he would bring, knowing his professionalism is at the very highest level of all the players I’ve ever worked with, and then his performance level. It’s great to see. He’s developed into an incredible player and a great man also.”