Celtic ace stands tall in face of 'outrageous' criticism amid 'momentous' decision that's major Parkhead gain
The Celtic captain has had a strong backing from one ex-player and boss.
A former Celtic player and manager has backed Callum McGregor’s career decisions that have dedicated him fully to the Hoops.
The midfielder has retired from Scotland duty after Euro 2024 to focus on his club career at Parkhead, and that appears to be paying dividends. He’s netted three excellent Premiership goals in five matches with a number of impressive displays in the eight games he’s played this season.
Outside a loan to Notts County, McGregor has only ever pulled on green and white hoops at club level in a trophy-laden era at Celtic. Former player and manager David Hay claims that some have raised eyebrows over his decisions not to go to the Premier League or continue his Scotland career, but it all feeds back into major Celtic positives.
He told CQN: “I don’t think anyone has the right to criticise Callum McGregor for making his momentous decision to step down from the international set-up. You better believe it would not have been a spur-of-the-moment reaction from the Celtic skipper.
“Callum is now 31 and, while he won’t be applying for his bus pass any time soon, he is savvy enough to realise there is more of his Hoops career behind him than there is in front of him. Harsh, but true. He has made up his mind to put everything into his remaining years at Parkhead and that can only be good for the club.
“Could Callum have been such a success in the English top flight? There’s absolutely no doubt about it. I read recently that some newspapermen had labelled his refusal to leave Celtic for a club across the border as ‘pathetic and lacking ambition’. The anonymous journalists were not named and, being a battle-scarred sceptic, I wonder if the tale might have been the figment of someone’s imagination to grab and headline or two.
“It’s a case of own up or shut up. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but you sometimes wonder about the motives behind such outrageous statements. Pathetic? Once again, I believe Callum deserves respect.
“The story goes that Brendan wanted to take him to Leicester City. That may or may not be true. What is certain is McGregor’s commitment and dedication to Celtic. That cannot be questioned. He has won a landslide of silverware at the club and it’s obvious he is determined to pile up the honours before he calls it a day.
“In many ways he reminds me of his predecessor as Celtic’s onfield leader, Scott Brown. Broony was one month away from his 36th birthday when he left the club for his brief spell as player-coach at Aberdeen.
“Ironically, Callum turned 31 on the evening he played for Scotland in their Euro 24 opener against Germany in Munich on June 14. There wasn’t much celebrating on that occasion with the country on the receiving end of a 5-1 defeat. He played in the other games – Switzerland (1-1) and Hungary (0-1) – before making the resolution to concentrate completely on Celtic. Scotland’s loss will most certainly be Celtic’s gain. Callum McGregor hasn’t got too many decisions wrong so far, has he?”