Callum McGregor has what it takes to be the captain of Celtic having shown his leadership skills since taking over from Scott Brown, claims Ange Postecoglou, via the Glasgow Times.
Postecoglou awarded McGregor the Bhoys armband in July as one of his first acts as Hoops boss. Brown had bid farewell to Parkhead earlier in the year after 14-seasons with the club, including 11-years as captain.
McGregor played 259 times with Brown for Celtic, more than any player, after graduating from their academy in 2014. The £20k-a-week 28-year-old has impressed Postecoglou with how he has since tackled replacing his long-time teammate as captain at Parkhead.
Postecoglou praises McGregor’s leadership skills
Postecoglou admires how McGregor has so far taken a leadership through his actions, not words, style to being Celtic’s captain. Demonstrating how his teammates should act as the Hoops look to bounce back from 2020/21, without Brown leading the way.
The Bhoys boss particularly respected how McGregor stepped up and reacted to missing a penalty against Ferencvaros on Tuesday. The midfielder had a chance to double Celtic’s lead after Kyogo Furuhashi’s opener, but rallied to keep the Parkhead side on track to win.
“They come in different forms,” Postecoglou said. “He’s probably not the typical, but the biggest thing you look for in leaders is ‘do people want to follow him? Do his actions match his words? Does his behaviour match his demands for standards?’ And he does that.
“He lives and breathes football, he lives and breathes this football club. He took the penalty, that’s his job. He missed it, but then he was back up looking for the ball again. That’s leadership for me. It’s not just being the best player or waving your arms about.
“Not that that’s not important. His words are very strong to the team before a game and at half-time. He’s dead set on making this club successful again. He’ll get better at it and grow into it. But I think I saw that early on, that he’ll be a good leader for us.”
Does McGregor have what it takes to be Celtic captain?
McGregor’s full-hearted desire to see Celtic succeed will flow into his teammates as captain by leading with actions, not just words, as Postecoglou notes. But his words in the dressing room also have an impact by setting the right tone before and during matches.
Postecoglou will want McGregor to lead Celtic to continued Premiership wins after beating Ferencvaros in midweek. The Hoops host St Johnstone on Saturday with a chance to close the gap to leaders Rangers to a point. Steven Gerrard’s side visit St Mirren on Sunday.
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