‘AYE, FOR SURE,’ MARATHON MAN McGREGOR READY FOR NEW CHALLENGES

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CALLUM McGREGOR is a veteran of marathon campaigns since being handed his Celtic debut by Ronny Deila in July 2014.

The Celtic skipper, 31, has clocked up 50 games or more every season over the past seven years on his way to picking up a remarkable 22 trophies.

It’s a phenomenal sequence of personal honours – seven as captain after taking over from Scott Brown in the summer of 2021 – but the inspirational onfield leader is showing no signs of slowing down as he prepares for the rigours of a new campaign.

Following the Euro 24 misadventure with Scotland where Steve Clarke’s men earned just one point from their three group games before making a rapid-fire exit, McGregor has picked up where he left off on the club front last time out.

He came on as a substitute in the 4-0 win over DC United in Washington at the weekend, started in the 4-3 victory over Manchester City in North Carolina and is standing by for tomorrow night’s final match in the US tour against Chelsea in Indiana.

A BIG HAND…captain Callum McGregor acknowledges the Celtic fans in Washington after the 4-0 win over DC United.

Then the competitive stuff will kick off with the opening Premiership encounter with Kilmarnock at Parkhead a week on Sunday.

McGregor said: “Am I up for another 55 games? Aye, for sure. Definitely. I feel fit and just can’t wait to get going.

”You look at the scenes at the end of last season. That’s what this club does to you – you celebrate every trophy like it’s the first. Success is so ingrained in the staff, the coaches, the players and the supporters.

“When things go a bit wayward, you think this might get taken away from us. It just sharpens everyone up. The last six weeks of the season were a prime example of that.

“We have to bank that experience, of course. But it’s important to anyone coming in to understand it right away.”

There was a stutter before the turn of the year in the champions’ pursuit of their 54th title when they lost back-to-back league games against Kilmarnock and Hearts, the latter a particularly baffling and lacklustre performance at Parkhead that brought criticism from all quarters.

McGregor, who missed four consecutive games with a hamstring injury before coming back as a late substitute in the 3-3 draw at Ibrox on April 7, played a massive role as the team regained their poise and powered all the way to the crown with 93 points, eight ahead of Philippe Clement’s Ibrox side who had been left in their slipstream.

HEART AND SOUL…Callum McGregor holds the Scottish Cup after the 1-0 triumph over Rangers on May 25, the captain’s 22nd honour.

The classy anchorman, speaking Daily Record, continued: “We actually started the season really well. I don’t think we lost a game for about 10 or 11 games in the league. [It was actually 16, 13 wins, three draws.]

“We had a spell in the middle when it wasn’t so great, we lost the two games in December and everyone started to hone in on that. But we ended up with 90-odd points and when you look back at the season as a whole, it was really successful.

“I probably just didn’t feel as good compared to the season before when we won’t the treble. But I think it was maybe just a perception and when you finish with two trophies out of three it’s successful.

“That’s done now, of course. We are looking forward to another season where teams will provide us with difficult challenges. It’s about us finding the solutions.”

Reflecting on the dismal showing in Germany with the Scots, McGregor added: “It was really disappointing, I don’t think you can get away from that. The only way you can grow as a player, a person and as a group, is to take responsibility.

“There’s no point hiding away. We all have to draw a line in the sand with it and get back to our clubs.

CROWNING GLORY…Callum McGregor celebrates Celtic’s 54th title success after the 5-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on May 15.

“Every season is a new challenge and the focus is 100 per cent on Celtic. You can’t allow yourself to be disappointed for too long because there’s always a new challenge.

“You have a responsibility, especially at a club like Celtic, to be full of energy. We are in a good place. You could see the fluidity of the football is good, along with the counter press and tactical ideas.

“It kind of feels like we’ve picked up where we left off, when you look at the slickness of the game the other night. It’s good because we’re really understanding the model of how we want to play.

“Teams will give us different problems, but we know we have different answers now. It’s important to keep drilling that home.

“It’s now about getting the work in with another tough friendly against Chelsea before it starts for real the following Sunday.”

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