The Celtic star that should have danced in front of fans - they are lucky to have him after latest landmark
Celtic captain revels in another milestone with the champions
An emotional Jota was the Celtic player sent to dance jubilantly in front of the away fans at Fir Park on Sunday afternoon, but it should have been someone else.
Granted, the Portuguese had claims for his moment in the sun after netting Celtic’s final goal in a 3-1 win over Motherwell in his second debut for the club. But behind him applauding was a man who has been part of the Parkhead furniture for years and too often goes unheralded.
Captain Callum McGregor doesn’t immediately come across as one to jig in front of fans but he continues to lead midfield opponents a merry one. The 31-year-old made his 500th appearance for Celtic in Lanarkshire and shows no signs of stopping, driving his team on towards more trophies. He continues to be a massive source of leadership and inspiration.
“It is a massive honour,” McGregor said on reaching 500. “It's such a huge football club and to play this many games under such high demand and performance levels. There's pressure to win and win well, so a lot of hard work and dedication.
“It's an amazing achievement, something I'm really proud of, but there are a lot of people who helped me along the way as well, and the manager as well, so I've got a lot of people to thank for that. My family as well, so yeah, it's a nice day, but come Wednesday, then we get back on the horse and go again.”
That last sentence is typical McGregor. Ever the professional, he is always taking it one game at a time. Dundee visit Celtic Park on Wednesday, giving the champions the opportunity to move 13 points clear of Rangers at the summit of the Premiership. The winning virtues of Celtic have rubbed off on McGregor, who came through the academy and had to fight for his place after a loan spell at Notts County in season 2013/14.
“You've got the bit between your teeth to try and force your way in and every time you play,” continued McGregor. “You want to do well and try and help the team win and stuff, so like I said at that point, you're just trying to put one foot in front of the other and like I say, just help the team as much as you can.
“You're just in the middle of this and it's probably been ten and a half years or something, but I just feel as if it's flown by and 500 games later, you're sitting here, so it's been a busy schedule, but you know, I love it, I love being part of it. I love playing for this club and I love the demand of it, so it's been really good and I've enjoyed it every minute of it.”
McGregor’s impressive spell at the County ground set him nicely for a proper chance at Celtic. He scored 12 goals in 37 appearances, with current Manchester City playmaker Jack Grealish one of his teammates. Coming back to Celtic, his remit was simple: crowbar his way into the reckoning. He did not want to be one of those youngsters who never made the grade.
“I think in my mind, you know, I was going there to try and sort of force my way in as such, and I know that maybe back in the day it wasn't the done thing to go on loan and then come back and kind of use the system that way,” said McGregor of his spell in Nottingham. “It didn't really dawn on me, I just thought, ‘you know, I want to go here, I want to show people that I can play man's football’, and I always had that in the back of my head that when I come back, I want to come back and I want to play for Celtic.
“I guess that was just my mindset of the whole thing, I didn't really take in too much else, I just wanted to go and play and improve to people that I could play at that level.”
McGregor has more than proven himself since. Twenty-three pieces of domestic silverware and 63 Scotland caps are testament to that. He has never moved on from Celtic, completely aware of how good he has it at the dominant club in Scottish football.
“I understand how big this football club is,” said McGregor. “I think you speak to a lot of players maybe when they leave, and when they leave they regret it, and they realise how big the club is, and the thing for me is, I grew up five, six minutes away from the stadium, so I felt it my whole childhood. I knew how big the club was, and when I walked through the door at eight, my only thought was to try and make it to play in the first team.
“I touched on my family there - my family just dedicated their whole life to make sure that I had the best chance possible to play for Celtic, which is insane, so, you know, when I think back now, there's so much going into it. It was just that was the be-all-and-end-all, was just playing the first team and have a career at Celtic, and I'm so, so lucky that I've managed to do that.”
Celtic are lucky to have him too. Five hundred games and counting for one of their most decorated servants.
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