As a true captain, Callum McGregor’s thoughts in the wake of leading Celtic to a league and cup double drifted towards the future.
Celtic lost one game in 25 matches to storm towards Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup glory in the second half of the season, answering all of the criticism that came their way in the early stages of the campaign.
Still, there’s an acknowledgement that the Bhoys can improve again over the summer. Not only will some of the players already at the club develop further but there’s the tantalising prospect of quality new signings.
McGregor is keen for Celtic to push on from this moment and recognises that nobody can rest on their laurels despite this latest triumph.
The captain understands the size of the club and the expectations around its fortunes.
Callum McGregor looking for ‘stronger’ Celtic
He said after beating Rangers [STV]: “We’ve got to push, we want to get our other trophy back now as well. We’re delighted, great day for the club, another big pressure moment that we’ve come through and that takes character and personality.
“So we know we have that in the group. It’s then just starting to layer everything up and getting ourselves going again and see if we can build another really strong squad.
“This is the club we play for – after the celebrations, everybody will be saying, ‘Right, what’s happening, what’s happening next season and how can we get stronger?’
“That’s what you have to be if you want to play at this club. It demands success. The standards are through the roof and you’ve got to get there or someone else will take your place.
“So, with nice building blocks again for this season, you see what’s in that group in terms of personality and strength of character. Now we just layer up everything that we wanted to do and try and build another really strong squad.”
This is strong messaging from McGregor and likely chimes with what Brendan Rodgers has been communicating to the players behind closed doors.
As an iconic figure once said, we never stop. Celtic must strive to recruit effectively in the upcoming transfer window and put together a group taking on tougher challenges.
McGregor’s words are more evidence of the mentality that has resulted in so much success in recent years. He wants more and more. So do we.