After nine years in the front line Callum McGregor knows that it is what is delivered on the pitch is all that matters.
On June three the Celtic skipper will be looking to pick up his 17th winners medal in seven seasons- a success rate that is unmatched in the history of Scottish football.
As a professional on the inside of the game McGregor would never go sounding off about being the dominant force in Scottish football, every season is a fresh start with every trophy having to be earned.
Trophies aren’t just handed out at Hampden, they are earned along the way with Celtic beating three top six teams to earn the right to face Inverness Caley Thistle in the June 3 showpiece.
Earlier this week James Bisgrove repeatedly spoke about making Ibrox the dominant force in Scottish football, that goes down well with his home audience but is quietly noted elsewhere.
McGregor has seen off the challenges and claims from elsewhere multiple times and wasn’t going to get drawn into the sound-bites from elsewhere as Football Scotland reported:
Asked for a response to Bisgrove, he said: “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.
“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, that the club has got a vision moving forward and they are aggressive in the way they want to progress the club 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.”
The prospect of Celtic improving and getting better is one that others don’t seem to factor in as they make plans to become the dominant force.
Bringing success and driving improvements would have been a more sensible course for Bisgrove to take as he piles more pressure on his manager.