Why ‘Star Man’ Callum McGregor was for The Celtic Way

No two approaches about it, today’s Scottish Cup conflict at St Mirren could have been a difficult fixture to negotiate for Celtic.

Coming off the lower back of two below-par performances towards Aberdeen and Hibernian respectively, questions have been being requested of the crew to step up and exhibit the stages that they are capable of, or probably face an early cup exit, something that had already passed off before on this campaign.

One of the players that has been singled out for his performances has been captain Callum McGregor, who – a whole lot like Celtic in frequent – has been up and down regarding his shape this campaign. With the eyes of Scottish football on last season’s treble winners, it was once up to the captain to supply a secure passage into the quarter-finals of the cup.

And my, he did deliver. A colossal overall performance from beginning to end, the skipper was once back to his superb best this afternoon, as he orchestrated his group to a cosy 2-0 victory in Paisley. The artwork of ‘secondary assists’ is a fairly new concept, however it is one that should be highlighted in the first goal, as it is his intervention that gets the ball rolling in the lead-up to the opener.

After an astonishing interception from Anthony Ralston, the captain turned and surveyed his options. Within seconds, he had threaded a lovely, weighted ignore to Luis Palma, who motored ahead towards the by-line before crossing to Kyogo, who proceeded to do what Kyogo does best.

It was not just his ‘assisting the assister’ that was astounding on the day, though, as he put in a real captain’s performance for Rodgers’ side. Always accessible in the center of the park, McGregor used to be a consistent alternative for the visitors, as he made certain that Celtic stored their prevailing feeling going for every other game. A trophy that he is aware of very well, and he will be hoping to elevate it for a 2nd time as Celtic captain come May. With performances like today, he may additionally very nicely be a hard man to cease if he is in the mood.

Yes, his performances have been mixed this season, but this was a return to the type of displaying that these of a Celtic persuasion revere the club’s variety forty two for. A self assurance in his stride left those in attendance with no doubt as to who used to be the pinnacle dog in midfield on the day, as his counterpart Matt O’Riley struggled to get things going alongside him. Hopefully, the Denmark cap can take inspiration from his captain, as he too was once in a very comparable state of affairs just a few video games ago concerning form.

The captain used to be the first player over to soak up the adulation of the touring guide at full time, as those fans had been solely too eager to show their assist for his efforts throughout the game.

A fantastic individual overall performance from McGregor, on a day where a slip-up may want to have very nicely transpired. He will now seem to be ahead to a home tie in opposition to Livingston, one you would expect him to stamp his authority all over.