NEIL Lennon has never been renowned for being the shy and retiring type, but with his claim last week that this title will belong to Brendan Rodgers when Celtic finally get over the line, he may be displaying a touch of misplaced modesty.
That is the view of Callum McGregor, who as well as conferring credit for this eighth consecutive league championship on the collective body of players and coaches at Lennoxtown, believes the success will belong just as much to his current manager as it does to the man he replaced.
While the spadework was done and the foundations laid for this latest (pending) Celtic triumph by Rodgers, it was Lennon who made sure the whole thing didn’t collapse when its architect took his leave.
“A lot of the work was done by Brendan, but to come in after the shock of what happened, the gaffer re-stabilised the club,” said McGregor.
“We’ve been winning games, we’re still unbeaten under him, so to steady the ship, he’s been absolutely brilliant. I think it’s as much his title [as Brendan’s], it’s a team effort. Everyone at Lennoxtown has played their part, that’s why we’ve been so successful.
“The coaching staff, everybody at Lennoxtown, the manager coming in and stabilising the place and then the players putting all the ideas out there on to the pitch and getting the wins and performances. It’s a real collective for us.”
If Lennon can take credit for the delivery of the Premiership trophy, and as McGregor hopes, the Scottish Cup too come the end of the season, then he will also have to own the manner of those triumphs.
And on that score, the jury is very much out on the permanent job prospects of the interim manager. McGregor is all too aware that even though the team are unbeaten since Lennon’s arrival, there is an undercurrent of disquiet developing over the workmanlike fashion of some of their recent performances, but his eyes are fixed firmly on delivering prizes without worrying too much about how they tuck those trophies back into the cabinet.
“As players, we don’t take too much notice of that,” he said. “When you get to this stage of the season it is about winning matches, and performances don’t matter so much. Obviously we want to play and win in the right manner, but in the last few games it’s about getting wins, winning titles and winning cups.
“It’s been a long season as well. We’ve played close to 70 games, so you are going to get tired towards the end of the season, and it’s just about grinding it out and having that winning mentality even when you aren’t playing so great.
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“It’s probably a combination of everything, and mental fitness as well. It’s testament to the boys that we are still there churning out results. We might not be playing the greatest football in the world, but at this stage, it’s about winning games and getting over the line.
“It’s probably been the last four seasons we’ve played 70-odd games, so it takes its toll, and especially in the high, aggressive style that we play football. When you do that for four seasons, the legs are going to get tired at some point.”
And yet, McGregor’s own consistently high level of performance has rarely wavered through his 63 appearances already this season for club and country, a remarkable feat that has brought him a worthy nomination for PFA Player of the Year.
“I think it is my best season in terms of everything coming together, consistency, and the amount of games as well,” he said.
“I think I’ve played 90 minutes over 60 times, so it’s a lot of football. I definitely feel as if I’m getting towards the peak of my career. I feel a more rounded player. I’ve added that defensive side of it and reading the game and being able to help the team that way as well.
“Each year I keep progressing as a player, getting better and better, and I’m happy to keep learning and becoming a better player.”
McGregor credits an early summer start each year, aided by a generous park attendant, for both his consistency and for his continuous improvement.
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“I go away every year and try to get back with about eight or nine days to go and give it a good go,” he said. “I start eating properly again and training up at my local park. I always do the same routine, the same sort of runs, so I know that when I go back for that first week of preseason, I’ve got a head start on where the boys are at.
“I just get on for free now, that’s the biggest difference! I get to drive up and the guy lets me in now, whereas a couple of years ago he was looking for 50p to get on. It’s better now, he just lets me drive in the gate.
“I sometimes get the odd look, but I try to get up there early in the morning to avoid that. I like to get up, go and do my runs and then go to the gym in the afternoon. The more recognised you get, the more you get a few looks and there’s people driving by on Edinburgh Road thinking ‘who’s that lunatic in there at eight in the morning doing runs’?”
The ultimate reward for that hard work back at the start of the season – securing a league title come the end – may well be sealed on Saturday when even a point will do as Celtic visit Aberdeen. Before heading north though, the Celtic players will attend the funeral of their greatest captain, Billy McNeill, tomorrow, and McGregor admits that along with the devastating subsequent loss of Stevie Chalmers, it has been a difficult period for everyone associated with the club.
That is why he is determined to pay those two greats the finest tribute he can think of, by wrapping up the title as quickly as they can. “It’s been a really emotional week,” said McGregor. “To lose Billy and then Stevie has been really emotional and obviously the club is highly charged with that emotion just now.
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“It’s good to try and get that focus on the football, and for us as players, to try and deliver that tribute on the pitch, and we want to make the club proud as well. It will be an emotional day on Friday at Billy’s funeral, but we know we’ve got a job to do on Saturday as well, so we’ll be preparing for that in the background.
“I didn’t have too many dealings with Billy or Stevie, but you see them in and about the place, and every time you spoke to them they were amazing guys and people you looked up to. When you come through the doors of the academy at eight, that Lisbon Lions team is everywhere, and it is what you aspire to be. If you can get anywhere near that, then you’re doing okay.
“The stature of those two guys, which is clear when you hear the words being spoken about them over the last week, it’s a great credit to them and how good ambassadors they were for the club.”
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