'Crazy': Celtic captain Callum McGregor's lightbulb moment as Hearts scenes addressed
Skipper says he knew back in January that champions could keep their crown
Cheeks puffed, relief and joy were etched all over Celtic captain Callum McGregor’s face. “Wow,” he said. “I don't think I'll have many better days than that – it was incredible.”
Wow indeed. Like a toiling favourite in a steeplechase, Celtic were coaxed and cajoled back into contention. They mowed down long-time Premiership leaders Hearts in the final strides, winning their last seven matches. Five in a row now for the club. At one point - especially after a March defeat by Dundee United - it seemed highly unlikely. But McGregor still believed. That came to fruition with a 3-1 win over the Jambos at Parkhead.
The Celtic captain identified exactly when he thought Celtic could still be champions: it was back in January, when they drew 2-2 with ten men against Hearts at Tynecastle.
“We’d come back from drawing 2-2 in Bologna after going down to ten men, then we went to Tynecastle on the Sunday and drew 2-2 again,” said McGregor. “That day we went down to ten men again, after about 65 minutes. And I said to the players that day: ‘I know we’ll win this league. I've seen enough inside this dressing room that tells me we’ll win this league.’
“I think everyone thought it was crazy, but I genuinely believed it. And since that moment, the players have been like: ‘Right, okay, let's go.’
“I mean, it was never going to be easy. We knew there'd be twists and turns, but what I saw that day in terms of the amount if travelling we’d done, going a man down twice in hostile environments but still getting results, that showed me a lot. I just though: ‘Yeah, this’ll do.’
“What was it? It was the commitment to each other, the desire, the willingness not to get beaten. Then we arrived into a few big games where if you lose, you’re done. You’re 2-0 down at Ibrox and get a draw. You show something to get yourself back in the game.
“So it's been there in spades – you only need to see how many last-minute goals we've scored to tell you that, to realise we never know when we’re beaten, that you keep going and going and eventually you’ll find a moment.”
McGregor speaks out
The final moments came in an extraordinary end against Hearts. A draw was not enough to be champions. Celtic struck on 87 minutes through Daizen Maeda and then deep into stoppage time through Callum Osmand. Chaotic scenes followed. A pitch invasion, with Hearts players taunted - and worse - by jubilant supporters.
McGregor was asked for his thoughts on it. “We have to make sure that safety is paramount,” said the midfielder, “but it comes at the end of such a dramatic moment. It's inevitable people are going to spill onto the pitch, and just as long as everybody is safe and nobody gets hurt, then of course we always try and keep a lid on it.”
This has not been an easy season for Celtic and certainly not an easy one for McGregor, the talisman of this team. “When you're the captain of the team and it's going well, everyone's happy,” he continued. “Then we it goes wrong it’s your fault and you’ve got to fix it. So that’s what you have to do, to stand up, to fix it.
“You have to make sure everyone's with you – you can't do it on yourself, of course, but what I've got in that dressing room is seven, eight, nine proper men, proper leaders who want to take responsibility. And when you've got that, you've got half a chance.
“So it was just about getting the football back on track. One foot in front of the other, getting the team looking how we need to look. Asking: What are you prepared to do? I think the boys have answered that in spades.
“It’s been such a hard, long road, not just 38 league games but nearly 60 overall – and just when you think you're getting ahead of steam, something happens that knocks you down, but you’ve got to keep fighting.
“We got ourselves to a point where we were under pressure really for like two or three months, when we have to win every game. That's credit to the players, you know. Big games, tough games when they've had to stand up and be counted and they've got their rewards today. We've had our day today.
“That’s why it's not only about football, it’s about what's inside you. That's been the mantra for a while: Can we make the football game as good as we can, but do we have it between the ears? Because that’s where it is, between the ears.
“It's what you want to do and what you want to give to each other to be successful. And that’s what it’s been like for these three games in six days, three massive games. We’ve come through it and that teaches you a lot about yourself and about your team-mates. We’ve been absolutely rock solid in that changing room.”
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