Celtic player reveals why 'amazing' transfer decision is paying dividends and his ultimate Parkhead mentor
The midfielder is on loan at Ayr United from Celtic this season.
He’s learned from the best in Celtic class - and Kyle Ure insists he could hardly hope for a better mention than Callum McGregor after his Ayr United transfer decision.
The midfielder is a product of the Parkhead academy and after time developing in the club’s B team that plays Lowland League football, he has made the loan move to Ayr . There, Ure is managed by Celtic legend Scott Brown but its current captain McGregor who is a good sounding boss for the midfielder.
After Scotland U21s duty this weekend when, Ure is now looking forward to a busy winter with Ayr. He doesn’t want to be a pest but he knows McGregor is there if he and others need it, as Ure revealed why his summer transfer call was the right one
What additional role does Callum McGregor play at Celtic?
He said: “I don't think there's a better person you can be compared to. Coming up through Celtic you're trying to play how the first team plays. To be compared and told you play the exact same way as what the club captain does in your position. It's what you want to be recognised for. I feel like that's the way Celtic want to play so I've adapted to play that way.
“I can do other stuff as well but to be recognised in the same way as he does is amazing. You see him every day in training, best player in training. His team's always going to be winning. For any young boy going up, you can see straight away how good he is. The basics, he's so good at everything about him. The way he conducts himself on and off the park. He’s a real role model for everyone at the club.
“He's brand new. You can't ask for a nicer guy as well. On the training pitch he’ll speak to you. If I ever need to go and ask him something I feel like I could but at the same time I don't want to pester him. He’s a great guy, great player and I think everybody knows that now.
Why Celtic player needed loan transfer
“At the start of the season the loan was exactly what I needed. Go and play first team football somewhere. I went to Ayr and it's been amazing, I've loved my time there. The boys are brand new - staff, everything about the club. It’s a really good place to go and play football, work every day. In regards to the U21s, I always felt going and playing in a first team somewhere I'd get a chance in the U21s set up. I never expected it to come as early as it did.
“Maybe even if it was this international break or the one towards the end of the season after getting a full good run at it. I think it just proves that you need to go and play first team football, get recognised. That's what I've done from the start of the season. It's been a good start to the season. I just need to continue that for the rest of the season.”
Ure has also revealed its Shaun Maloney, player pathway manager and part of the interim management staff, and coach Stephen McManus who he discussed his Ayr stint with. He added: “I speak to Stephen McManus, but it's been mainly Shaun Maloney. He's the one dealing with the loans but he's in with the first team now so I've not spoken to him quite so much. He'll have other stuff that's more important at the club. But at the same time when I went on loan I said I wanted to go and get a proper taste of what a first team environment would be. Obviously we've got the co-operation agreement there for me and Jude Bonnar, that we can go back and play for the B team or Celtic, wherever we need. But they've been good that they've only used it once for me, twice for Jude, during international break to play in the cup.”