CELTIC legend Davie Hay insists Callum McGregor deserves respect following his decision to quit Scotland.
The Hoops captain announced his international retirement in the summer to spark debate among supporters who pondered the wisdom behind the resolution.
In another CQN EXCLUSIVE series, the club great, now 76, reveals all as he speaks to Alex Gordon, who co-authored the former player and manager’s best-selling autobiography, ‘The Quiet Assassin‘.
Hay said: “I don’t think anyone has the right to criticise Callum McGregor for making his momentous decision to step down from the international set-up.
THE FINAL BOW…Callum McGregor during his last appearance for Scotland, the 1-0 loss to Hungary during the Euro 24 Finals in Germany in summer.
“You better believe it would not have been a spur-of-the-moment reaction from the Celtic skipper.
“Callum is now 31 and, while he won’t be applying for his bus pass any time soon, he is savvy enough to realise there is more of his Hoops career behind him than there is in front of him.
“Harsh, but true. He has made up his mind to put everything into his remaining years at Parkhead and that can only be good for the club.
“Callum turned out 63 times for Scotland after winning his first cap almost seven years ago in a friendly against the Netherlands. I would say that is a fair innings and he will have his own reasons for his decision.
“I have to say it’s obvious the midfielder has never shirked from making commitments, even at a very early age.
“Don’t forget Callum had a spell on loan at Notts County who were then in the English third tier. That was in 2013 when he was just 20 years old and it underlined his strength of conviction in his own ability.
“Tommy Burns had first mentioned the youngster, then aged 13, if my memory serves correctly, and tipped him for a huge future. If anyone could spot a midfielder of quality it would have been my old pal Tommy.
THAT’S MY BHOY…Brendan Rodgers and Callum McGregor celebrate the Scottish Cup Final triumph over their Ibrox rivals at Hampden on May 25.
“One of Callum’s first games for County was against Liverpool at Anfield in the League Cup. The visitors were two goals adrift inside half-an-hour and it looked as though they were already heading for the exit.
“Callum and Co had other ideas. He was up against Steven Gerrard that evening, but was hardly intimidated as he played his role in his team getting back to 2-2 to force the tie to extra-time.
“It was only in that period that County capitulated and lost 4-2, but it had been a heroic effort from McGregor and his team-mates. One onlooker who must have been impressed was the Liverpool manager, a certain Brendan Rodgers.
“Could Callum have been such a success in the English top flight? There’s absolutely no doubt about it.
“I read recently that some newspapermen had labelled his refusal to leave Celtic for a club across the border as ‘pathetic and lacking ambition’.
“The anonymous journalists were not named and, being a battle-scarred sceptic, I wonder if the tale might have been the figment of someone’s imagination to grab and headline or two.
“It’s a case of own up or shut up. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but you sometimes wonder about the motives behind such outrageous statements.
“Pathetic? Once again, I believe Callum deserves respect.
“The story goes that Brendan wanted to take him to Leicester City. That may or may not be true.
“What is certain is McGregor’s commitment and dedication to Celtic. That cannot be questioned.
“He has won a landslide of silverware at the club and it’s obvious he is determined to pile up the honours before he calls it a day.
TWO OF A KIND…Callum McGregor and Scott Brown with the Scottish Cup as Celtic seal the phenomenal quadruple treble with the penalty-kick shoot-out triumph over Hearts in December 2020.
“In many ways he reminds me of his predecessor as Celtic’s onfield leader, Scott Brown.
“Broony was one month away from his 36th birthday when he left the club for his brief spell as player-coach at Aberdeen.
“Ironically, Callum turned 31 on the evening he played for Scotland in their Euro 24 opener against Germany in Munich on June 14. There wasn’t much celebrating on that occasion with the country on the receiving end of a 5-1 defeat.
“He played in the other games – Switzerland (1-1) and Hungary (0-1) – before making the resolution to concentrate completely on Celtic.
“Scotland’s loss will most certainly be Celtic’s gain.
“Callum McGregor hasn’t got too many decisions wrong so far, has he?”
*TOMORROW: Don’t miss Day Four of club legend Davie Hay’s EXCLUSIVE look at Celtic – only in your champion CQN.
