Celtic captain Callum McGregor says that his relationship with Brendan Rodgers has changed slightly from their first spell together.
The midfielder was still a young boy when Rodgers first took on the Hoops job in the summer of 2016. McGregor wasn’t even a regular fixture in the Celtic side at that stage, only really becoming one at the tail end of the Invincible season.
Six years down the line, the Scotland man is now the beating heart of Rodgers’ side. McGregor arguably hasn’t hit immense heights so far this season, but he has still been an important player in some of our biggest wins.
Ahead of our meeting with Kilmarnock on Saturday, he has been chatting about his manager and his hopes for this growing Celtic side.
“It’s much the same,” he said of his interactions with Rodgers. “We had a really good relationship last time and it’s the same again.
“He probably demands even more of me this time being his captain and trying to lead and taking his message onto the pitch. It’s slightly different in that sense, but the relationship is going well.
“He wants to win. He’s a winner. I’ve known that since the first time he was here. That’s just the way he’s programmed. He won’t settle for any less.
“You can see he wants to drive the team. It’s still in the infancy stage with what we are trying to do with a new group. We are working relentlessly and it’s about pushing the guys every week. He set the tone for that. He wants to win – like everybody.
“There is more to come. We are only seven games in [to the Premiership]. We just focus on ourselves. We don’t want to drop points. This group is still in the infancy stage when it comes to getting the ideas of how we want to play. There are boys still settling in.
“For sure there is more to come. Hopefully, over the next few weeks and months, we can show it.” (The Herald)
It’s no great surprise to hear that McGregor has a slightly different relationship with Rodgers this time around. After all, he is the captain and someone trusted to lead the team on the pitch.
McGregor performed that role remarkably well under Ange Postecoglou, perhaps playing his two best seasons for the club. It’s fair to say that the Postecoglou era wouldn’t have been nearly as successful had it not got the buy-in from the skipper.
This current Celtic team is still in its infancy as the skipper says. We are hearing very positive things about what the future holds, both domestically and in Europe.
The noises are good. However, the Celtic support are still waiting for that blow away 90-minute performance to get really excited about. There have been some good overall displays and some important wins. We’re in an amazing early-season position in the Premiership.
But we’re all waiting on that emphatic statement that has everyone buzzing. Let’s hope it comes against Kilmarnock.
In other news, Celtic team news ahead of Saturday’s game
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