How Celtic skipper McGregor spent his first international week after retirement

CALLUM McGREGOR has been Scottish football’s answer to the Duracell Bunny for a decade.

But at the start of last week he forced himself to pull the plug on the game for the first time in his life.

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In the past, no matter the number of matches in front of him, the Celtic skipper has kept going, and going, and going.

But after announcing his retirement from international football last month, he took a break while Scotland faced Poland and Portugal.

During his down days he spent some time in Spain and didn’t even turn on the telly for the start of Steve Clarke’s side’s first clash.

For someone so immersed in his trade it didn’t come easily — but he’s slowly learning to switch off in the hope it will keep him fresh for when the season hots up.

August Player of the Month McGregor, 31 – an award he’s won for the FIRST time, said: “Did I enjoy my time off? It was nice to take the edge off!

“But we’re still relatively early on in the season so you don’t really need a refresher yet.

“It’s always nice to get two or three days in a row off, though, because you go for long spells of the year and don’t get many days off at all.

“It’s good to change the scenery, then when you come back, you get that energy again.

“I managed to get to Spain for a few days so there was a wee bit of warm weather — but then I came back with the cold as usual!

“I watched a little bit of Scotland. I missed the first half-hour of the Poland game then I turned it on and the boys did really well.

“But I tried to switch off and stay away from football. I think that’s the next part of it — just trying to recover when you get the chance.

“But football’s one of these things that follows you about in your life. Even if you do try to switch off, there are always people trying to remind you of what’s happening.

“But for the two or three days I was off I just wanted to switch off and get that energy back. It was a strange break but it was nice as well.”

Now it’s over, McGregor will hope his replenished reserves pay off.

After today’s clash with Hearts, Celtic’s Champions League campaign opens against Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday, before they host Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup next Sunday.

After seeing their current internationals return from duty over the past 48 hours, McGregor said: “It’s a game a week for the first four weeks so you don’t really need that much recovery time.

“But the schedule gets much busier over the next three months, so hopefully by that point you’re getting the benefit of those two or three days off and you feel good and refreshed and ready to go.

“It’s probably later on in the season where I might feel the benefit. There are guys who rejoined us on Friday morning who are even further travelled.

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“I know that feeling well, where you’ve come off the back of a Tuesday night game and you’re back in on Thursday, it’s second day recovery then you train here on the Friday for the first time and you’re straight into the game.

“It’s been a longer build-up for us guys and it allows the training to be a bit more intense and you to get your fitness work in.

“It’s just a bit of adjustment. It’s still relatively early days but it’s been a good training week and I’m looking forward to this block of games now.”

The Hoops’ new recruits are still bedding themselves in. Arne Engels became their record signing at just 21 after they splashed £11million to bring him from Augsburg.

Boss Brendan Rodgers has talked highly of the new Belgian cap but McGregor is also there to help him settle and deal with the pressures of the Old Firm.

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He said: “The sort of money that was spent, then straight away everybody sits up and there’s big expectation.

“From what I’ve seen of him he looks like a top player with a brilliant attitude, he’s settled into the group well and his training level’s been excellent.

“So everybody’s right to have that expectation. But we have to be careful we look after him, don’t just throw him in and it becomes a bit chaotic.

“When he comes into our group, our job is to look after him and let him feel his way in. It’s about bedding him in and getting him going and I’m sure he’ll repay that in spades.

“Everybody wants everything at the drop of a hat and the expectation level is there because of what we spent.

“But just give him time then I’m pretty sure you’ll see his quality and his level. He’s a confident lad and he’s looked really good so far but we’ll always have one eye on him.”

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Twelve months ago there was unrest in the Parkhead stands and questions were being asked of their signing policy and squad depth.
But after splashing the best part of £28m to bring in Engels, Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo and Luke McCowan, plus the loan acquisition of Alex Valle and arrival of keepers Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo, skipper McGregor reckons they’re ready to challenge on all fronts.

He said: “That’s the plan and where everybody’s wanted to get to.

“I think the manager’s happy with the squad, the team are playing well, there’s good momentum and the fans are enjoying what they’re seeing.

“That gives you a much better feeling around the club, the stadium and the training ground. When you’re winning games of football everything feels a lot better. We just have to continue to do that.”

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