WHEN any player arrives at Celtic, it is a fair bet that it won’t be long before they reference the atmosphere at Celtic Park as a factor in their decision to come to Glasgow. Callum McGregor though has a simple message for those currently within the squad though who haven’t experienced a Champions League night at the ground; you ain’t seen nothing yet.
The wall of noise as the players emerge from the tunnel. The Champions League anthem, with all but the first few bars drowned out by the cacophonous chaos all around. And that’s all before the game even starts.
It has been five long years since McGregor himself experienced such occasions, but what has often seemed an interminable wait is almost over. Champions League nights are back at Celtic, and McGregor will lead his team into them as captain.
The much anticipated group stage draw will take place today in Istanbul, and the Celtic players are looking forward to seeing who they will be taking on just as much as the supporters, believing that this team under Ange Postecoglou can go toe to toe with anyone – particularly on their own patch.
“It will be special to hear that music again after a few years,” McGregor said. “The noise level just goes up tenfold and it created an amazing atmosphere.
“I’m just really looking forward to it. I’ve already told the a few of the guys what to expect. I’ve told them it’s at another level and they are excited about it.
“When the games come around everyone will look forward to it and hopefully there will be some special nights.
“I think there’s only a few of us left from the last time were in the Champions League. It’s a new group and we want to be successful in our own right.
“We don’t want to dwell on teams from the past of anything like that, good or bad. We’ve got some nice experience in the squad as well, but it’s a new team and we want to develop and learn together, and create our own experiences.”
McGregor is also one of only two players left at Celtic to have found the net for the club in the competition, scoring against Bayern Munich the last time they reached the group stages to draw his side level at Celtic Park. James Forrest is the other, scoring against Ajax in 2013.
The goal against Bayern was a memorable moment for McGregor, though the exaltation was short-lived as the German giants bit back to win the match 2-1.
“I didn’t realise James and I are the only ones left in the squad to score in the Champions League,” he said. “I’ll need to remind the boys of that one!
“The goal against Bayern was a special moment. When you look back over your career you think about the big nights and that was one of them.
“It was a special feeling to get my first Champions League goal. The result didn’t go our way in the end but it was a great occasion and it was a good game.”
McGregor has made no secret of the fact that the team he wants to face more than any other is the champions of Europe themselves, Real Madrid. He has yet to take them on in his career, though it will hardly take the sheen off the draw should Celtic’s path not cross with Los Blancos in the end.
“If we get them, then great,” he said. “That would be a nice one to tick off the list, but I’m sure whoever we get will be top opponents.
“This is the top level of European football, it’s a great challenge and we’re all looking forward to it.
“I’ve tried to stay away from studying who we could get from pots one, two or three. There are so many top teams in there it we have to take it as it comes. They are all good.”
Celtic have of course become accustomed in recent years to the gruelling summer qualification process for the group stages of the tournament, something that McGregor hasn’t missed in the slightest this time around.
Not only has the extra time on the training field allowed Postecoglou to reinforce his ideas with his squad ahead of the step up to the Champions League, but it has also allowed the team to ease into their domestic campaign without the worry of crucial midweek fixtures to contend with on the continent.
“It’s been nice,” he said. “These games are always really difficult to negotiate. They come thick and fast and you are trying to get to speed.
“You come up against good teams and if you’re not quite right or a little off it, then you can quite easily get done.
“It’s obviously a big blow when that’s happened at the start of the season and you have to recover from that and get the league campaign going.
“Even the games we’ve been successful in have been tough and emotionally they can be draining.
“You can score five at home and think you’re home and dry but these games can turn quickly.
“It’s just nice to avoid all that and go straight in to the group stages."
