Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has singled out star midfielder Callum McGregor as a Hoops hero who typifies the sort of attitude needed to help develop the club in the future.
The 25-year-old has 194 appearances under his belt for the Hoops since coming through the youth system at Parkhead, with 29 of those coming this season alone, and has helped the club to pick up nine trophies while in the senior side.
Speaking about the development needed to keep pushing the club on to future success, Rodgers named the Scotland international, who has played five games for his country during the current campaign, as someone who demonstrated the right sort of mentality.
He told the Evening Times: “Before I arrived here, Celtic had won five titles in a row but my feeling was just to try and do it the best way we could.
“I wanted to make sure the stadium was full, could we develop the club on and off the field? That collective effort has been great. But we want to continue along that way. People in the game know it’s not easy. The players have shown incredible appetite to do that.
“I look at Callum McGregor who has played 34 games already this season. To keep performing and winning, with all the physicality they have to put in, is impressive on their part.”
Opinion
Rodgers might well think that playing that number of games this season signals a great work ethic but at the same time it demonstrates just how much pressure the Celtic squad have been under since the summer. The top stars in that side are going to be pushing 50-plus games if they play regularly for both club and country and that is just not sustainable for a career at the top. Injuries are going start becoming more and more frequent if Rodgers does not find a way to rotate every one of those players during the campaign and unfortunately for the manager the likes of McGregor are almost irreplaceable. The future is indeed bright for the Hoops but they have to make sure they are not pushing themselves too hard, too early. It is a marathon, not a sprint and how the Bhoys manage to overcome the intense pressure on their shoulders for the rest of the campaign will determine whether they taste the glory they are desperate to seal this season.