‘Outstanding’ – Steve Clarke gives big praise to Celtic star

Celtic enjoyed a better season than even most of the club’s fans would have expected, as they won a Scottish Premiership and League Cup double in Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge at Parkhead. This was almost unthinkable after the Hoops had finished trophyless and 25 points behind the Rangers last time around.

One of the key worries that some fans had going into the season was whether Callum McGregor would be able to replace Scott Brown as captain.

It is safe to say that he has played that role very well, even if he might have a very different style of leading the team when compared to Broony. McGregor not only lifted a couple of trophies in his first season as captain of the club but was one of their best players as well.

Scotland national team manager, Steve Clarke, will know about McGregor’s qualities very well. And he reserved some big praise for the Celtic captain. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, he said on PLZ Soccer:

"“That’s probably why Callum (McGregor) got player of the year this year because he was outstanding.“He’s always been good; I’ve always enjoyed working with Callum. John McGinn obviously catches a lot of the headlines because he scores goals, and he’s done great for us.“I think whether we got there by luck or good judgement, I’ll leave for other people to decide, but suddenly you end up with a midfield of Callum McGregor and Billy Gilmour.“And suddenly, for a Scottish national team, we had a team that could control the ball, play and get people breaking in. That improved us as a team. I think it has improved us as a team.”"

Scotland national team boss reserves big praise for Celtic star

McGregor has truly had a wonderful season. The thing about the Celtic captain is that if you just rely on stats to judge a player then he will never look like the best. But on the pitch, he just brings so much to a team.

One of his most underrated qualities is the ability to go game after game and put in solid performances. He plays more minutes in a season than almost anybody else in world football and never lets his performance levels drop. That is simply stunning and deserves a tip of the hat.

While many fans might have been unsure at the start of the season, it is clear that Celtic made the right decision by handing the armband to McGregor, as he has made the journey from being ball boy to club captain.