CALMAC FEELING BOSSY

Car journey with gaffer has skipper thinking about what’s down the track

"I think everyone now knows, if they didn’t before, what this means to me"

   - CALLUM McGREGOR on his tears after losing the scottish cup final

24 Jul 2025 - Daily Record

FROM MICHAEL GANNON IN COMO

CALLUM McGREGOR still has plenty in the tank but the car journey up from the airport in Milan to Celtic’s camp at Lake Como has got the skipper thinking about the road ahead.

It might have been turning 32 years old last month, or it might have just been the chance to pick the brain of his boss Brendan Rodgers for the hour-long drive.

Either way, the playmaker arrived in town with thoughts of the future on his mind. Let’s get one thing straight. McGregor is going nowhere any time soon. He missed just three games last season and showed no signs of his sky high standards slipping.

The midfielder has also returned to pre-season looking like a Rolls-Royce, running the show against Premier League outfit Newcastle last weekend.

McGregor knows at some point he will reach a fork in the road but this is a guy who has built a career seeing what is coming around corners.

He said: “We just got chatting in the car about different things.

“He was asking what I fancy doing after I finish playing, not that he was trying to retire me or anything!

“That’s still a few years down the line.

“But I ’ ve always been involved in football – it’s pretty much all I know.

“And I want to continue to be involved in that, whether that be coaching or managing.

“The next progression would be to do my badges and see how I like it. Then you just never know from there.

“But in terms of the chat with the manager, I think we often take things for granted.

“I was there sharing the car with the gaffer on the way to the stadium and this is a guy who managed Liverpool and at Leicester and Celtic.

“That’s invaluable information that people may never get to listen to. Even if nothing comes of it, there was a conversation that gave me an opportunity to learn.

“The conversation was one that not many people would ever get access to.

“He’s got a very mentorship style, he loves helping players. He did that with me when we first met each other.

“It’s been an amazing relationship and something that’s been nurtured over time.

“We have a really good understanding and what makes us tick is very similar.

“I am really thankful to have someone like that in my career.”

McGregor will keep his foot down as a player for the foreseeable, however.

He added: “I am going to continue to play and push my body as much as I can.

“I think I missed three games last year. I feel good. I know what my body needs and I just keep churning out games.”

Some games hurt more than others, though, and the Scottish Cup Final defeat by Aberdeen was a sore one for the skipper.

McGregor missed from the spot and was left in tears after losing his first showpiece since he was a schoolkid.

He said: “I think everyone now knows, if they didn’t know before, just how much it means to me.

“With the position you’re in, you take the pressure, you take the responsibility and it goes all the way through your life.

“You can’t just switch it off. So it’s a big pressure but it’s something I like, something I’ve thrived under and been successful more often than not.

“But when you have a sore one, it’s a reminder of how you need to keep pushing, keep learning and keep getting better. And you hopefully minimise those down days.

“When something like that happens, you feel like you’ve let the manager down.

“You also feel like you’ve let the team down and you’ve let the club down. You feel responsible in the good days and in the bad days as well.”

McGregor hit the beach after Hampden but it was family rallying round that eventually helped him off of his gloom.

He added: “You don’t start enjoying your holiday, probably, until a couple of weeks after it.

“My family and the people close to me, having their support was very important because they’re the ones who pick you back up.

“You’re as low as can be, really. It’s my whole life, it’s my profession. It’s what I pride myself on.

“So when you have a bad day, you can’t help but carry it with you for days and days and days.

“I think people think that we’re robots but we’re not robots, we’re human beings.”