Callum McGregor managed to settle the nerves as he scored the opening goal in the Scottish Cup final as Celtic went on to secure a second domestic treble in a row!

The attacking midfielder is fast becoming a bit of a talisman for the Parkhead side and a player for the big occasion.

In all competitions this season, McGregor has appeared for the Hoops on fifty-five occasions and has also scored twelve times. As well as his goals, the midfielder has also provided assists and played his part in many build-up plays that sees others scoring.

McGregor was the only man in the Celtic squad to score in all five competitions during this term.

Other midfield stars like Scott Brown, Tom Rogic and Oliver Ntcham have deservedly received many plaudits this term but I sometimes think McGregor doesn’t always get the credit his performances deserve.

Maybe it’s because he’s came up through the youth ranks, sometimes we forget the hard journey these boys have to go through to get into the first team and get caught up with others that came in for transfer fees.

It’s not that the Celtic fans don’t appreciate McGregor, they do, but I wonder if they sometimes don’t realise just how good a talent he is. Although I think more and more are starting to see it.

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers certainly sees it:

“Yeah, he’s a player who can have real longevity here. If you know football, you know he’s a top player.”

“He can dictate a game, he has courage to play and he plays with a technical simplicity.”

Plus let’s not forget that the twenty-four year old can still get better.

I love the fact that the Glaswegian times his runs perfectly. That allows him to get into space in tight attacking areas and by the time his marker notices he’s no longer there, Callum has got his shot away. It shows us what an intelligent player he is.

He’s also managed to show the composure needed to get the important goals.

These are brilliant traits for a supportive attacker to have in a winning side. It reminds me a bit of Teddy Sheringham in his heyday.

Another strong quality Callum has; is his versatility. That’s a gift for a manager to have in his side and it should provide the player longevity in his career.

I think he’s started to add more consistency and for me, he just keeps improving all parts of his game. He has a strong work-ethic that has impressed his boss and he is assured with the ball at his feet.

You can tell that midfielder enjoys playing his football at Celtic Park and, along with his teammates, he’s developed that desire to keep on winning matches and trophies!

His performances have been top drawer this season and that’s also seen him break into the Scotland squad. Hopefully he’ll soon be shining as bright for his national team as he has done for Celtic in recent years.

I think next term could be his best yet in a Hoops jersey and surely that will see him up for the player awards come this time next year!

 

Posted on May 19th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article