Celtic captain Callum McGregor has cited Brendan Rodgers and Scott Brown as the two key figures in his development as a leader.
McGregor has had a fine start to his Celtic captaincy. He’s already collected a Premier Sports Cup medal, while leading his team in Europe, and performing with distinction for Ange Postecoglou.
In a bit of a different role under the new boss, McGregor has been the link between defence and midfield, dictating the tempo with urgency and metronomic passing. And, in an interview with Celtic’s in-house media, the captain explained his route to the captaincy, and how he always felt he had the raw traits.
McGregor told Celtic FC: “I think I sort of had the personality where I just always wanted to win. Always wanted to be the best. No matter what it was; in training, I wanted to win. If it was sprints, I wanted to win that, if it was technical, I wanted to win that. So I know I’ve always had that competitive edge.
“The raw traits were there. It’s then once you get full-time, learning how to conduct yourself, how to train properly. You have good influences as you’re coming up and as you’re growing up. I’ve had two of the best influences with Brendan [Rodgers] and Scott [Brown] as well.
“I had them take you on to that sort of leadership, how to speak to people, how to behave. A lot of it’s down to the people that influence you as well.
“I’ve always had that rawness but it’s then trying to fine-tune it.”
Brendan Rodgers and Scott Brown cited by Celtic captain Callum McGregor
It’s certainly true that Brendan Rodgers was hugely influential in Callum McGregor’s career. After Ronny Deila introduced McGregor to a starting role at Celtic, he’s increasingly played almost every minute available for the Hoops. The Scotland midfielder has been relied upon to play more and more from 15-16 onwards [Transfermarkt].
Rodgers, though, elevated McGregor’s status from a promising talent to a bona fide mainstay. And the lessons left by the current Leicester City boss have put the Celtic captain in good stead. So, too, has Scott Brown; you couldn’t ask for a better education for the captaincy than playing next to Broony.
If Brown was an intimidator, though, McGregor has his own distinct style. And while he’s shown he’s more than capable of standing up for his teammates, his is a different approach. McGregor’s shown the confidence to try things his own way, rather than being an imitation of Scott Brown.
Perhaps more important than these influences, though, was the unrelenting drive of McGregor himself. He’s elevated his game since becoming captain, and although there was some debate in the summer, the Scotland midfielder was the only realistic choice for the captaincy.
And that’s because he wanted it, and put everything into getting there eventually.
He’s been utter class for Celtic. If he’s still our captain in five years’ time, we’ll be just fine.
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