Callum McGregor has revealed that it was during last season’s festive win at Ibrox when he really felt he came of age as a Celtic player.

The midfielder has gone through the ranks at the club since he was just 8 but after signing a new four year deal with Celtic earlier this week, he remains firmly a part of the first team picture under Brendan Rodgers.

“It’s been a progression ever since I broke into the first team, step by step,” said McGregor. “I probably think of last season and the game at Ibrox when I scored against Rangers.

“That was probably the moment when I thought, ‘you know what, that’s me here….

“Everybody begins to give you respect as a first-team player. Your teammates respect you as well.”

McGregor almost slips under the radar at the club, something he insists suits him, but there was an emotional pull when he headed into a side room to complete the paperwork on the contract.

“Tommy [Burns] was a massive influence for me coming all the way through,” said the 24-year-old. “He would be at first team training during the day then come to supervise us at 6pm.

“We would still be there at 10pm practicing free-kicks. He wouldn’t let us go home.

“He was just that kind of guy, he loved football dearly.

Actually, when I signed the new contract the other day I signed it in the little room just off the boardroom and that was the first time I had been in there since the day I sat there with Tommy and my parents to sign my first pro-youth contract at the age of 13.

“Because it was the first time I had been back in the room and it was a nice feeling. I felt a bit emotional at the time.

“I texted my mum and mentioned it to her and she said it was nice to see how far I have come in the years since. It did feel emotional.

“It’s a proud moment for me to tie my future down at the club where I have spent the bulk of my career.

“I remember the trial [for Celtic], driving with my dad in the car. We were in a development centre and they all came together for the trial at Cumbernauld Juniors.

“I remember driving away from the game then coming back for another on the Saturday. Before that five or six of us were signed into the pro youth system.”

McGregor made his 100th first-team appearance last season during the Invincibles campaign last season and he is a player whose contribution has been well received by McGregor.

Energetic, creative and with an eye for goal, there is a suggestion that in any other Scottish team McGregor would be one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Fierce competition in the middle of the park for Celtic means there will always be a challenge to get in the team while international football has proved of late to be a source of frustration.

It was widely expected that McGregor would have been in Gordon Strachan’s last Scotland squad, with Rodgers himself raising an eyebrow at the player’s omission.

“Being at Champions League level will help me as a player,” said McGregor. “Trying to get better and playing in the team and if that Scotland call comes ‘great.’

“It’s up to me to keep pushing and pushing till I get there.”

McGregor didn’t feature in the 5-0 thumping from PSG this week at Celtic Park but he believes that the Hoops will take the lessons from the game and utilise them as they move on.

“They are top, top players,” he said “That’s the level the Champions League is and for us to get to that level there is more to give and so much more to learn and we want to do that as a group.

“The result in Barcelona last season galvanised the group and we knew we had a lot of work to do, but at the same time we couldn’t affect us in terms of the domestic stuff.

“We knew we had a target to achieve and that’s the same this season.

“We will learn from the experience and kick on and that will make us a stronger group.”