Celtic captain, Callum McGregor is no stranger to the gruelling work required in pre-season and the role that plays in helping to build towards a successful season. The midfielder, who has won an incr...
Celtic captain, Callum McGregor is no stranger to the gruelling work required in pre-season and the role that plays in helping to build towards a successful season.
The midfielder, who has won an incredible 24 major honours in the Hoops, is the third most decorated player in Celtic’s glittering history and he is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
And as the Celts’ summer training camp continues in the heat of Lisbon, McGregor spoke to Celtic TV about the importance of the work that the Bhoys are doing on the training pitch in Portugal.
“The aim of pre-season is to get the fitness work in,” he said. “And to continue to develop the football idea.
“We also get the new guys in and get them up to speed as quickly as we can, so it’s been a nice period.
“It’s nice to see people bedding in and getting up to speed pretty quickly.
‘These are the building blocks of your whole season. It starts now, it’s an every-day behaviour.’
“We try and train and behave in a certain way so that when it becomes matchday, it’s second nature for us.
“A lot of what you’ll see during the season is done in this period.”
The summer transfer window has already seen the arrival of new Bhoys Hayato Inamura, Callum Osmand and Benjamin Nygren in to the Celtic set up, whilst goalkeeper, Ross Doohan, who came through the ranks in the Academy, has returned to the club.
Another returning face is, of course, Kieran Tierney, with the left back returning to the club from Arsenal after six years with the North London club.
Tierney spoke to the Official Celtic FC Podcast in Portugal last week, and reflected on how much it means to him to be a Celtic player once again.
And, in Callum McGregor’s opinion, KT’s return is a massive positive for the champions.
McGregor said: “It’s like he’s never been away to be honest! It’s brilliant to see him back. He’s a top player, everyone knows what you’re going to get from him.
“He’s a really high level, quality player who knows the club inside and out and that’s so important as well.
‘When you’re in the middle of the season and you’ve got to dig deep, he has that understanding of what you need to be a successful Celtic player.’
“To add that back in to the group and with even more experience from what he’s learned in his time away, it’s brilliant.
“The transition has been seamless for him so I’m delighted he’s back.”
Callum McGregor’s full interview is available to watch on Celtic TV
Category: General Sports
