“It is a massive honour, it is such a huge football club,” Callum McGregor

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The Celtic Star

·4 de febrero de 2025

“It is a massive honour, it is such a huge football club,” Callum McGregor

Celtic’s wonderful captain Callum McGregor spoke to the media after reaching his landmark 500th appearance for Celtic at Fir Park on Sunday afternoon. He becomes only the 14th player in Celtic’s history to have played 500 games for our football club. Here’s everything that Calmac had to say…

Callum McGregor makes it 500 appearances for Celtic. Tribute collage from Celtic FC

Q: Well done on your 500th game for Celtic, how does that make you feel?

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Callum McGregor: “Thank you, it is a massive honour, it is such a huge football club and to play this many games under such high demand and the performance levels have got to be there and there’s pressure to win and win well, so it is a lot of hard work and dedication and it’s amazing.

“If I think right back at the beginning, I could only have dreamed that something like this would happen. You just put one foot in front of the other and here you are. It is an amazing achievement, and it is something I’m proud of. There are a lot of people who have helped me along the way, so I’ve got a lot of people to thank for that. The manager and my family as well. It’s a nice day, but come Wednesday, then we get back on the horse and go again.”

League Cup, Liverpool FC – Notts County FC, Callum McGregor in action against Liverpool during the Football League Cup 2nd Round match at Anfield. 27.08.2013 Photo imago/HochZwei/International PROPAGANDA.

Q: When you are a young kid, playing out the wing and going out on loan and all that stuff, could you ever imagine being a first-team player and projecting 500 games later?

Callum McGregor: “No, of course, you’ve got the bit between your teeth, and you try and force your way in. Every time you play you want to do well and try and help the team win and stuff. At that point, you’re just trying to put one foot in front of the other and just help the team as much as you can. Then think 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 you lift your head 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.”

Jota celebrates his first goal after rejoining Celtic, Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Jota was always going to steal the limelight and be the superstar of the party, wasn’t he?

Callum McGregor: “Absolutely. You couldn’t even write it, to be honest, but it is amazing for him to come back in straight away and get that feeling of hitting the back of the net. The supporters love him and quite rightly so. He’s a top player, so it’s brilliant just to see him slide back in because you know what these things are like when sometimes you come back and you maybe don’t hit the ground running, it can get quite sticky, so it’s brilliant. He got his goal, came on and made an impact in the game, and let’s hope he just continues it.”

Callum McGregor with Jack Grealish playing at Notts County. Photo social media

Q: You are a good advert for young players getting out on loan when you think back to Notts County on loan and playing with Jack Grealish. Back then was there any doubt in your mind you would come back and become a first-team player?

Callum McGregor: “I think in my mind I was going there to try and sort of force my way in as such. I know that maybe back in the day it wasn’t the done thing to do to go on loan and then come back and kind of use the system that way. It wasn’t a case of I was not going to make it here so I had to go and find somewhere else, but it didn’t dawn on me, I just thought I want to go here, I want to show people that I can play men’s football. I always had that in the back of my head even though I was there for a year that I wanted to come back, and I wanted to play for Celtic. I guess that was just my mindset around the whole thing, I didn’t take in too much else, I just wanted to go and play and prove to people that I could play at that level.”

Callum McGregor with Jack Grealish playing at Notts County. Photo social media

Q: Did you keep in touch with Jack Grealish?

Callum McGregor: “We did for a spell, actually, but he’s too busy now. We’re both busy, I saw him in America, and it was good to see him there and catch up with him briefly, but football’s so busy sometimes that people just drift apart a wee bit. We loved our time there it was brilliant as they gave us the licence to go and play, and we really enjoyed it.”

Callum McGregor, Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: Is it that high demand that you talk about every day you play here and playing at the Champions League level that’s kept you here because you’re playing at a level that’s the best?

Callum McGregor: “The Champions League is the highest level, and it’s where all the best players and coaches are. It’s super competitive, so you’re learning all the time. I say this to the young lads and guys that come in when you experience Champions League football, it makes you such a better player, because the level, the speed, all of that, the speed of thought, everything is just right at the highest level, so it makes you a better player. I’ve felt that right the way through my career and it has helped me go and play international football as well. Making that jump to play there. Playing at this club gives you the chance to play at the Champions League level and it is such a big demand, but I love it.”

Callum McGregor with the Premier Sports Cup after Celtic’s victory over theRangers on 15 December 2024 at Hampden Park. Photo Kenny Ramsay

Q: A lot of players are maybe looking for the next big thing, aren’t they? You’re not like that, because you have had it good here, haven’t you?

Callum McGregor: “Yeah, listen, I understand how big this football club is. I think when you speak to a lot of players when they leave Celtic, they regret it. They realise how big the club is and the thing for me is I grew up just 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 and that’s, like, I touched on my family there as my family just dedicated their whole life to make sure that I had the best chance possible to play for Celtic, which is insane. When I think back now there’s so much that has gone into it. It was just that was the be-all-and-end-all. Playing in the first team and having a career at Celtic, and I’m so, so lucky that I’ve managed to do that.”

Jota is emotional after he scores his first goal after rejoining Celtic, Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Do you think Jota’s possibly feeling like that now and realises how big this club is since he has gone away? Have you spoken to him about that?

Callum McGregor: “Yeah, straight away. He has settled back in right away and it is as if he left a week ago. That shows you that he’s got a good connection with the club. He walked straight back in the door, and everybody welcomed him back in and I think he felt at ease straight away as well. That’s the one thing he said was ‘Cal, I didn’t realise how good this club was’. Not to say that he didn’t, I mean, in that sense, he was just buzzing to be back because of the demand. He felt alive again straight away and then you see that today when he came on. He’s playing on the edge straight away and he gets his goal, so the one thing about playing here is it keeps you super sharp.”

Daniel Cummings, Arne Engels and Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, applauds the fans after the team’s defeat during the UEFA Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Q: The manager mentioned you when it comes to staying at Celtic and being an example to young players like Daniel Cummings and how he’s possibly got options to go, and he’s maybe saying we should be patient and to look at you as you showed that patience. Is that a thing you can echo as well that if you do things right and calm down as a teenager then things can develop here for you?

Callum McGregor: “Yes, I think when you’re young, patience is something you don’t have especially now in the modern-day world. Everything is on your phone, and it is so readily available, so patience is something that probably the young lads don’t have so much of now. This is an amazing football club, and it can take time. We see it with guys that come in and young players, they come in, they shoot up, they go down again and they’ve got to find a level of consistency, and then they go back up, and then they stay in, so it does take a bit of time and if you stick it out, it’s an amazing learning experience for you as well. Once you get through that spell then this is an amazing football club with so much pressure and expectation that you can’t help but love it.”

Jeffrey Schlupp of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Q: Is that also what you will be saying to the one or two new faces who may come in on deadline day?

Callum McGregor: “Yes, I think everybody knows what this club’s like, but I think it’s good when you come into the dressing room, and we have got so many good experienced players, not just myself, but, guys like Kasper, Cam and Ali, all these guys are pushing the same message. I’ve got seven or eight players all on the same page, so it makes it easy, but I think straight away when the new players come in, they realise how serious it is. You need to work your hardest, and you need to give everything. So straight away the players understand the expectation, which is great, and if you don’t have that, then you’re going to struggle to play here.”

Brendan Rodgers. Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: Are you relaxed that Celtic is in a position to bring more players in as the manager seems very relaxed about things? Do you agree? It’s not always been that way, has it?

Callum McGregor: “No, exactly, but I think we’ve got a really strong squad of really exciting players mixed with good experience. The squad is in a good place and in January we will look to add people that are going to help. So, the club will always try and do that, but we’re in a good place, so if we can get one or two that will help us, then great. But, you know, the players that are here they just keep going, and keep working hard, and keep turning out performances and victories.”

Conor Spence

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