Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor reckons his manager could be bolder on the European stage than former boss Brendan Rodgers, The Evening Times report.
McGregor remains an incredibly important part of the Hoops set up despite the change of manager last season.
He’s a tireless machine in the middle of the park. In fact, according to Transfermarkt, in world football, he’s second only to Rosenborg centre-back Victor Nelsson when it comes to minutes played this season.
The Scotland international is accumulating experience at a very quick rate and that’s something he’s hoping the squad can use as a collective to do something special in Europe this season.
He’s credited the bravery of Neil Lennon in securing the results picked up so far this term that’s allowed the team to confirm their spot in the knockout stages of the European.
The midfielder believes the result at Lazio, in particular, has seen a change of mindset in the dressing room.
As quoted by The Evening Times, he said: “He could be [bolder than Rodgers]. You see with results. We went to Lazio and I think people hoped rather than had any expectation but when you deliver a result like that it changes everyone’s mindset.
“That’s what we have to do now as a team in Europe. We have been great domestically and that is still our bread and butter, we still have to look after that, but I think in Europe now we probably have enough experience where we can really go and try to do something.”
On the cusp
There’s a palpable sense of hope that Celtic are on the cusp of significant European progress this season. There’s obviously a long way to go before we can get too excited, but the evidence so far suggests there’s been a big improvement from the Rodgers era.
This team undoubtedly have more belief in themselves at this level under Lennon and look much more mentally strong.
When you consider that we went behind in the match against Rennes and in both games against Lazio, we’ve had to dig deep to get to the position we’re in. It’s no coincidence that’s happened under Lennon.
Whether it results in an extended run in the competition remains to be seen. Right now though the players think they can do that and it’s impossible for anyone to credibly argue against them.
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