CALLUM McGREGOR hopes Celtic make Brendan Rodgers an offer he cannot refuse.
The champions captain insists the Irishman is “gold dust” and has urged the Hoops hierarchy to persuade him to sign a new long-term contract.
Rodgers’ three-year contract expires at the end of next season and the gaffer has vowed he will be at the club “200 per cent” in the new campaign, as CQN reported in the immediate aftermath of the team’s 5-0 triumph over Dundee United on Saturday that sealed their fourth successive title.
Remarkably, it was the team chief’s ELEVENTH piece of silverware spread over his two stints and he is determined to add the Scottish Cup to that personal honours’ list when the holders take on Aberdeen in the Hampden showpiece on Saturday May 24.
WINNERS…captain Callum McGregor and manager Brendan Rodgers celebrate Celtic’s Premier Sports League Cup Final success at Hampden in December.
McGregor said: “He’s just an elite level manager and he’s a top person, as well.
“He cares so much about the players and he cares so much about his profession. So, when I see someone like that, I think: ‘That’s gold dust.’
“I want to watch everything he’s doing and. hopefully, some of that is rubbing off. If we can keep him for as long as we can, then we have an elite level manager, no doubt.
“Obviously, that’s between him and the club, but what I would say on that is we want to keep him for as long as we can.
“He was hugely successful in his first spell and he’s come back and done the same again. The hunger’s there.
“The way he speaks, the way he carries himself, he’s a manager of the highest calibre and Celtic are lucky to have him.
“Since he’s come in, he’s elevated the club to a new level.”
ROARING SUCCESS…Callum McGregor yells for joy as Celtic seal their fourth successive title after the 5-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice.
McGregor, speaking to the Scottish Sun, continued: “You just look at the domestic success that’s happened since then and it’s been relentless, really.
“If we are successful in the Cup Final, that’ll be six trebles in 10 years, which is unheard of. We then get into the conversation about, if you don’t win a treble, it’s been a disaster.
“So, that tells you how far he’s pushed the club, how much the players have gone with that, as well, and that’s where we are now.
“That’s the level of success that we’re setting ourselves, and the one thing about the manager is, he doesn’t ever want to drop below that.”
McGregor, who is one of three Celts – along with Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda plus Dunee’s Simon Murray – in the running for the PFA Player of the year award, admitted he will never get too close to Rodgers, despite their tight-knit bond.
JUST CHAMPION…Brendan Rodgers displays his joy as he wins his eleventh honour as Celtic boss.
The influential 32-year-old onfield leader added: “He doesn’t give much away.
“Obviously, we do have a close relationship, but as player-manager and captain-manager.
“I don’t want to overstep the mark and ever make it a grey area for him. I’m his player, he can ask whatever he wants of me.
“That’s the relationship and I don’t want anything else other than that.
“And that keeps me on the right track, because sometimes if you have too much saying, you talk too much, then that’s when it can go wrong.
“So, I’m happy being a player, I’m happy under his direction and he’s the manager.
“He makes the decisions, and then I give the maximum I can to help him and help the team.”
