Celtic boss salutes ‘outstanding leader’ after captain wins 11th final

Ange Postecoglou paid tribute to Callum McGregor after the Celtic captain continued his flawless cup final record at Hampden Park on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Scotland midfielder, who took over the armband from Scott Brown in the summer of 2021, helped the Hoops retain the Viaplay Cup with a a 2-1 win over Old Firm rivals Rangers.

In doing so, McGregor extended to 11 his winning record in senior showpiece occasions and in total he has won seven league titles, four Scottish Cups and seven League Cups.

Hoops boss Postecoglou told Celtic TV: “It is credit to him and his family.

“When you are part of a winning team it gives you belief and confidence that you can go there again and do it again. To do it as a leader adds an extra dimension.

“He has followed a fantastic skipper in Scott Brown and I am sure he saw how he dealt with success which is really important.

“It is not just about attaining success it is what you do when you have the success and you can see with Callum that he is still very, very measured in the way he embraces what comes his way.

“He understands his role in it is to be a leader of a collective effort and to never get too far ahead of himself or allow the group to get too far ahead of themselves and that is the most pleasing thing for me.

“After he played his 400th game for Celtic I said he trains every day like he has something to prove and no doubt that’s what he will do today and that’s the hallmark of an outstanding leader.”

Postecoglou’s motto is ‘we never stop’ and he will have Celtic, nine points clear of Rangers at the top of the cinch Premiership, ready again for three upcoming games, away to St Mirren on Sunday, at home to Hearts next Wednesday night and a trip to Tynecastle in the Scottish Cup on March 11.

He said: “We will put a bow on what happened at the weekend and start looking ahead.

“We have a big week coming up, St Mirren at the weekend and a midweek game which we haven’t had for a while.

“We have been working towards that with our training to make sure all the lads are ready. That will be our focus and again a key part of everything we have done so far and not just Sunday, it is not just the contribution of the starting team it is the contribution from everyone and we are going to need everyone next week with three big games.”