Brendan Rodgers hailed Callum McGregor’s remarkable career as the Celtic captain prepares to play his 500th game on Sunday – and predicted he still has years left in the tank.
Rodgers insists there’s no better example to the youngsters coming through the Hoops academy than the skipper who made his top team debut at 21 over a decade ago back in 2014. McGregor spent a season on loan at Notts County as a youngster before being given his big break at Parkhead by Ronny Deila.
And Rodgers said: “It tells you absolutely everything about his professionalism, his commitment, his quality and his example that he sets every single day of his life. Seeing him now to when I first came, and just seeing that growth. It’s a remarkable achievement in the position he plays, with the possibility of so many good players to be in here to play that number of games.
“I’m so proud of seeing how his career’s moved from when he first broke into the team, and from 2016 when I came in, just seeing how he was back then. How he leads the team. We’re so, so lucky to have him as a captain here. And he’s still got numbers of years left.”
Rodgers reckons McGregor’s patience is a shining example to the current crop of teenagers coming through at Lennoxtown. Dane Murray and Daniel Cummings were handed their top team debuts off the bench in Wednesday’s Champions League blockbuster at Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Cummings, who has hit 33 goals for the B Team, is a target for clubs down south and is a free agent in the summer. But Rodgers said: “If the young players are good enough, and they have the right mentality, there’ll always be an opportunity of playing here. The challenge here now for young players is patience.
“They want to be in the first team at 17, 18. But that’s difficult at a club like this here, unless you’re an incredibly special talent. “But it doesn’t mean that you can never be. I’ve spent my career and my life developing young players, putting them in the team, and some have been ready.
“Like Raheem Sterling at 17. He was ready. Physically, mentally, ability, everything. Other players, like Kieran Dewsbury-Hall, need a wee bit more time, and he gets his debut, and then he’s ready a bit later.
“It’s just about time. What young players need to have here is to understand that there’s a bit of patience needed.
“And their captain is a perfect example. Young player comes through the system, takes a loan away from here, and then at 21 he plays, and now tomorrow he’s playing his 500th game.
“There’s no greater example. But if you want to, and be patient and trust the club, you’ll get there. If you don’t, you might listen to your agent, who’s got a different agenda, that takes you away from here, and then you’ll go somewhere else.”