Callum McGregor pleads for first Celtic-Rangers clash to be put on ice

Midfielder want opening Old Firm clash to be scheduled as late as possible to allow for fans’ return

Callum McGregor with St Teresa’s Primary School head teacher Lesley Fee and children from local schools as Celtic make a £30,000 donation to 12 local schools and nurseries as part of their Football For Good Fund. Picture: SNS

Callum McGregor is backing his manager’s call for the first Old Firm clash of the new season to be put back as far as possible in order to increase the chances of supporters being allowed in to watch.

The midfielder returned to training this week with Celtic in preparation for a new campaign, which is due to start on the weekend 1-2 August. The fixture list is now in the process of being drawn up following yesterday’s confirmation that there will be no league reconstruction and the Premiership will proceed with 12 teams.

Now McGregor hopes league officials schedule the first clash between Celtic and Rangers for a later date in the calendar so Sky Sports, the new lead broadcast partners, can relay the atmosphere that McGregor says makes these games so “special”. He believes this would be warranted even if it means disrupting the usual practice of the league being split into rounds of fixtures.

“It would be worth the wait,” he said yesterday. “It’s the atmosphere that makes them special.

“When you play in them, the stadiums are rocking. That’s what you want to play in – the high-pressure games. If it meant there were a few games in the space of a few weeks then it would be a great spectacle for people watching them as well. It could make sense if that’s the route that they go down.

“In Scotland, the Celtic–Rangers fixtures are the go-to games,” he added. “It’s what promotes the product. In England, people want to tune in and watch these games. It would be fantastic to get a full stadium for them or as close to that as possible.

McGregor has relished getting back on the grass with his team-mates after Celtic returned to training at the end of last week. Though restrictions still apply, players can at least work together in small groups.

Unlike at the start of most pre-seasons, there is no looming European qualifier to negotiate almost as soon as the players return.

“The break has been forced on us but we now have a long enough period to make sure everybody’s body is right,” explained McGregor. “It means we can slowly progress rather than coming back and knowing your first Champions League game is in two and half weeks and you may have to take some risks with some of the players.

“Hopefully this time around, everyone will have an eight, nine, ten-week lead-in to the games starting. We can progress that gradually and come August we should be in a good place to be ready to go.

“It’s been great being back in and getting that routine of being back on the grass,” he added. “I’d not seen some of the lads for a while so it’s been great to see them. It’s been nice to get that sense of being back at it.

“There are some restrictions in place. You are still pretty much training on your own – doing your own running with your ball. But at least it’s a step in the right direction towards getting football back which is what everyone wants. The protocols mean the building is closed. So you get ready in the house, drive to training, put your boots on and go on to the pitch. When you are done it’s pretty much the same – change out of your boots, back into the car and back home.”

McGregor acknowledged that the new league season will have a different feel to it without trips to Tynecastle. Yesterday’s news that the SPFL’s proposal for a 14-10-10-10 format had been firmly rejected by the clubs means Hearts will be missing from the top-flight fixture list for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.

McGregor has sympathy with the Tynecastle side and also Partick Thistle and Stranraer, who have been relegated from the Championship and League 1 respectively without the season being completed.

“It’s a very difficult situation that’s been forced on everyone – the way the league was curtailed,” he said. “These teams had a fighting chance of getting out. So, there’s sympathy there and I’m sure every player in Scotland will be the same. There are guys who you know at these clubs and this is going to have an impact on their livelihoods.

“Then there’s the backroom people – the canteen ladies, the people who wash the kit. They are the hub of any club and these seem to be the people who get most affected when these things happen.

“It’s through no fault of their own. Your heart does go out to them. These clubs just need to try to make do as best they can as it’s not a great situation.”

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