Callum McGregor’s recent award shows Celtic are learning to cope without Matt O’Riley

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Celtic captain Callum McGregor can do no wrong at the minute after scoring three goals in his opening four Scottish Premiership matches.

The 31-year-old decided to retire from international duty during the summer after holding talks with Steve Clarke over his Scotland future. This has given him time to breathe ahead of the Bhoys’ return against Heart of Midlothian tomorrow.

However, you’d have paid a pretty penny to hear the thoughts of the Tartan Army boss after the month McGregor had in August, which ended with him being awarded the Scottish Premiership Player of the Month award.

It isn’t a major surprise that McGregor has landed himself another individual accolade. In his role as club captain, the Lennoxtown graduate is the standard bearer at Celtic and is always instrumental in success.

Regardless, what the award does show is the Bhoys are starting to find an efficient midfield shape without Matt O’Riley, who contributed so much to the cause last term.

Callum McGregor is stepping up to fill the O’Riley void

McGregor and O’Riley are not like-for-like, nowhere near it. Still, Celtic needed someone to lead the way in the engine room after the Dane’s departure to Brighton & Hove Albion for a record £30 million.

Coming in clutch with 37 goal contributions last term, the latter’s departure was met with questions from some over who would shoulder the creative mantle moving forward.

With new signings Arne Engels and Luke McCowan set to bed in over the next few weeks, McGregor has taken it upon himself to advance at times from his usual sitting role.

Per Fotmob, the skipper has recorded a 91.8% pass accuracy rate, creating three chances and completing five successful dribbles along the way on league duty.

Surprisingly, he has only had five touches in the opposition box, illustrating how clinical McGregor has been from range within a new-found confidence to strike from distance.

Once the fresh arrivals are up and running, it may be a case of seeing him drop back into his main responsibilities of controlling the midfield landscape. However, you suspect the former Scotland man could continue his goalscoring form for a while to come.