Celtic captain Callum McGregor has enjoyed yet another terrific season in green and white and he could become Ange Postecoglou’s treble winning leader on the park come the 3rd of June.
Should he do so, he will further etch his name into the Celtic history books although as much as domestic success pleases the Hoops fans, so too does European prosperity.
It is fair to say Celtic have not had this in a while although for the second season in a row, they have automatically qualified for the Champions League.
On this, McGregor said (Football Scotland):
“It’s hugely important. The financial and football aspect, it’s the top tier of European football and everybody wants a seat at the table.
“To be able to get straight into the group stage is huge for the club. It helps in all of the different planning aspects of the club, financially, budgets, and everything like that.
“So it’s a massive help to the club that we know our fate already. That’s excellent, and as players and staff, I think it gives everybody a huge lift and a brilliant platform to go and test what this club’s about; the football, the style, the personality, the supporters.”
In September when the Champions League group stages commence, Celtic fans will be high on optimism and from the previous campaign, McGregor said the Scottish champions will take a lot:
“We’re a year on in terms of the group, we’re more mature and we’ve had that experience.
“We’ve been at that level, we understand what the level requires. Like anything in life, we experience and learn, and hopefully, we can put that into practice once the games come around.”
In last season’s Champions League, Celtic’s performances were impressive although their lack of cutting edge in front of goal was concerning and costly.
For 2023/24, the Hoops will be aiming to erase and learn from this, like McGregor says, as they look to make some real European progress.
