CALLUM McGREGOR insists he and his team-mates will never stand still as they continually strive to meet the demands of challenges of Celtic.
The Hoops skipper is looking forward to returning to Parkhead for tomorrow’s game against St Mirren after an absence of almost A MONTH.
The last time the champions performed on their own pitch was in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell on April 22.
I’M IN CHARGE…Callum McGregor controls the midfield.
Since then Ange Postecoglou’s men have played at Hampden, Tynecastle and Ibrox in which time they have won through to a place in the Scottish Cup Final a fortnight tomorrow and reclaimed their second successive title.
Now a win over Inverness Caley Thistle at the national stadium on June 3 will seal a memorable campaign with the club’s eighth treble in their glorious history.
There are claims elsewhere of at least one time preparing to fight for the top spot in the domestic game, but McGregor responds: “To be honest, I don’t think we look at any outside noise at all.
“I’m pretty sure if you asked the manager at any point in the season, is he looking to strengthen the club, or if you asked the players, are they looking to strengthen their own game and collectively together, then the answer to that is absolutely always.
“I don’t think in sport you can ever stand still. You’ve always got to continue to push forward and try to get better in many different ways.
FANFARE…Callum McGregor and his Celtic team-mates thank the supporters following the 2-0 win at Tynecastle that cemented a second successive championship.
“So, as long as we’ve got a mindset within the club that we continue to push forward, then that’s what’s more important for us as players and staff. The club has got a vision moving forward and they are aggressive in the way they want to progress all the time.
“As long as we keep doing that and focus on ourselves, I’ve got no doubt that we’ll continue to get better, as well.”
Looking to the immediate challenge of the Paisley club in the east end of Glasgow tomorrow, McGregor, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been there and it’s great to be going back as champions.
“The mantra after the Motherwell game was to be back here as champions and that objective has been completed.
“It’s great for the players to get back to the home support and vice versa for the fans to see the team back after being successful and winning the league again.
“We’ve got two trophies in the bag and we’re playing for a third one, so there are only positive things to speak about within this group.
CRUNCH…Callum McGregor clatters into John Lundstram as Celtic win 1-0 at Hampden to book a place in the Scottish Cup Final a fortnight tomorrow.
“The challenge is to dust ourselves down and there’s been a reaction in training in the last few days.
“I think in professional sport if you don’t take defeats badly, then I don’t think you’re in the right sport.
“I think it should always hurt you no matter the success you’ve had or how well you’ve been going.”
McGregor, who has also taken on the role as Foundation Ambassador for the club, is looking forward to the match against Stephen Robinson’s club and added: “For me, there are two weeks to go and a really exciting period.
“We expect a tough game, we’ve had some tough ones already.
“They’ve run us close a few times, albeit the scorelines in the end have run away a little bit, but that’s not told the whole story of the game.
“It’s about what we bring to the game and how we start it and the quality we have on the ball and the running power we want to show.”
That sounds just champion!
