Greg Taylor has labelled Callum McGregor 'irreplaceable' as he revealed how massive it is for Celtic to have their skipper back.
The Hoops midfielder returned to the fold for Ange Postecoglou's men as they kicked off their post-World Cup Premiership campaign with a victory over Aberdeen. The 29-year-old was influential throughout the Pittodrie test and was the man who grabbed the all important goal as the table toppers won with just minutes on the clock.
Full-back Taylor - who has taken his own game to a different level - admits it was brilliant to have McGregor back in his familiar role and hopes he can remain fit from here on in as the champions bid to make it back to back title successes and lift domestic cup silverware. The captain's influence both on and off the park is something Taylor says speaks volumes. On Cal Mac, he said: “It is massive to have the captain back and to get the winning goal and the man of the match award on his first game after injury is not a bad return.
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“Fair play to Cal, he’s worked ever so hard on his rehab and he’s come back the same way he started the season. It’s not easy to come back after 10 weeks out. A guy like Cal thrives on playing football and he regularly plays 50 or 60 games a season.
“You know how hard he would find being on the sidelines and looking on. It’s important to realise the boys who played when he was out put in such a massive shift because Cal is irreplaceable for us. It was unbelievable from them but today was about Cal and the team and he was superb. It’s brilliant to have him back. Hopefully he can stay fit for the rest of the season.”
Postecoglou believes McGregor is so influential that when he was out it took several players to unite and fill the void left by the midfield star.
Taylor said: “Yes, exactly. That’s why the manager touched on it. It’s not just one player that could fill the role that Cal has because he’s so vital to us. The whole game goes through him, he breaks up play, he creates chances and scores. It’s such a vital time in the season for him to come back.”
The left-back also knows the big inspiration the Scotland international is to everybody at the club both off and on the park. He continued: “Yes, and that speaks volumes for the player and the man that he is. He’s not just a superb player but he makes everyone around him better and that’s an unbelievable quality for an individual to have in a team game.
“We had a break and a good strong week in Portugal and that’s probably helped Callum reintegrate with the group. You don’t ever want to be injured but having that wee break before we came back has probably helped him and he will be the first to say that.”
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