Callum McGregor might not be the same type of captain as Scott Brown - but the current skipper has the identical desire and leadership abilities.
And he reckons he's got time to match and overtake his pal’s outstanding Celtic appearance record. McGregor made it 400 games in the Hoops as he led the troops to a 2-0 win over Dundee United. Brown, who handed the armband to his mate when he retired, set a mark of 620 during his trophy-laden term at Parkhead.
McGregor knows it’s a long way off, but smiled as he insisted that he can get there. He said: "That just shows you again how good he was for this club. A real iconic figure who looked after himself and was an ever present for the club. That’s massive numbers and it’s a huge testament to him. But I’ve still got enough time. Hopefully if I stay fit and keep playing well and being hungry to have success and do all the right things, who knows where I will be in five or six years time. You just look forward to the next game.
"That is the way you have got to treat it. In modern-day football now, you don’t get a chance to look back and see what you have achieved and it’s just the next game.
“As long as you have that mindset and you just put one foot in front of the other, that is how you rack up these kinds of numbers. So onto the next one.”
On reaching 400, he admits it was hard to envisage when he started out as he continued: “Probably not in terms of the scale of it. Once you start to rack up these wee milestones, you realise you are doing something right, your preparation is good and your performance is good.
“As long as I stay on that track and stay hungry and fit and healthy, I’m hoping to make a few more.”
Manager Ange Postecoglou says it’s a “privilege” to share a dressing room with his leader and such praise is universal across the club. Aaron Mooy, who was superb alongside his captain at Tannadice, said: “He’s the one who holds us all together and gets us going before every game and training session.
"He’s great player. It’s a fantastic achievement, 400 games for Celtic. It comes with a lot of responsibility so he should be very proud of himself.”
McGregor takes such accolades with a typically humble outlook and said: “It is always nice when people speak well about you, but the main guy you are trying to impress on a daily basis is the manager. He is the guy who picks the team, he is the guy who is heading the club, so for him to say nice things is a really good feeling.
“The gaffer doesn’t hand out praise too often, he likes to keep people on their toes! You know when you are doing well and when the manager picks you then you are doing something right.
“Sometimes when you praise people too much they become comfortable and he likes not letting that happen. It has worked well so far, so as long as we are winning and playing well then we are happy.”
Where Brown was a vocal captain, McGregor is quieter and leads by example. He continued: “I think football has changed away from the shouting and screaming at people.
"Sometimes you need it, mind you. But, on a daily basis, it is about what you do in and around the training ground and how you conduct yourself on the park and what you give to the team.
“We are lucky that we have a lot of characters like that, not just me. We have Joe Hart, Greg Taylor and others.
“They set the tone with me and I have maintained that to have a successful team you need five or six leaders but we have that. We see each other more than we see our families and we want to create a family unit.
"You want guys to go over and above for you on the park. We have boys from all over the world, but we have a good group of boys who are welcoming and it helps the boys settle a bit quicker.”
One aspect where Brown and McGregor are identical is their thirst for work and success. The Celtic hero said: “When you pull on that jersey to play for this club, you are under pressure every single week and you are judged to the highest of standards.
“So you bear that in mind every time you play for this club and these supporters that you have to give your absolute maximum and that is what it should look like.”
McGregor performed with style against United as the champions eased to success which included two big VAR calls. Celtic had a penalty award overturned in the first-half after Kyogo was caught by United keeper Mark Birighitti, but the midfielder said: “When we saw it back it was probably the right decision. The ref said he got a nick on the ball. That’s what VAR is there for.”
But VAR also spotted a handball after the break which allowed Mooy to seal the victory and mark McGregor’s milestone day. Postecoglou has joked he now wants another 400 and McGregor smiled: “That’s the plan! I’ll keep going until someone tells me to stop!”
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