Almost on the stroke of half time against Dundee on February 28 Callum McGregor put Celtic 6-0 with the players roared off at half-time by fans delighted to see their side back cutting opponents wide open. And scoring goals.
The captain never came back out for the second half, Daniel Kelly took his place, scored Celtic’s seventh but it was to prove the start of a worrying period for McGregor who has virtually been a fixture in the Celtic midfield for the last six seasons.
On April 7 he came off the bench at Ibrox, the mindset and mentality was there but the player was short of full capacity.
After two substitute appearances he started the Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts but made way for Tomoki Iwata during the second half, the same scenario unfolded last week at Dundee with some fans debating whether McGregor should be starting.
Captain Fantastic back to normal!? pic.twitter.com/3KQ0EHVYLH
— Bun Beag Brian (@BunbegB) May 4, 2024
Midway through the second half of the win over Hearts the debate ended!
Kenneth Vargas doesn’t tow a caravan but he had McGregor on his tail as he raced half the length of the park to threaten Celtic’s 2-0 lead.
McGregor could have picked up a booking, taken one for the team but played to the rules, tested himself then delivered a precision tackle to halt the Hearts break.
For good measure, despite being grounded the Celtic skipper swiped the follow up away from Cammy Devlin, two players much younger than McGregor but with much to learn about the art of winning.
The fans loved it, those challenges gave the supporters fresh oxygen, it fed the players on the park.
Celtic retained the initiative; Hearts were put on the back foot. When the substitutions were made Reo Hatate was replaced by Iwata.
Once Matt O’Riley tucked away Celtic’s third from the penalty spot it was time for McGregor to come off, the clock is ticking towards next Saturday and another Red Letter Day in his gloried career.
