Callum McGregor, the heartbeat of Celtic’s midfield and its steadfast captain, has never shied away from the spotlight. As the business end of the 2025/26 Scottish Premiership season kicks off, McGregor’s rallying cry has echoed far beyond the walls of Lennoxtown Training Ground, resonating with a fanbase hungry for silverware and respect. Today, as Celtic prepare to march into Ibrox for a crucial Glasgow Derby, the stakes could hardly be higher. Hearts sit nine points clear after their recent victory over Aberdeen, but with two games in hand, Celtic’s destiny remains tantalizingly within their grasp—if only they can seize the moment.
“Everyone is trying to doubt us,” McGregor declared, his words carrying the weight of a season’s worth of scrutiny and expectation, as reported by the Scottish Sun. “Everybody’s trying to see if they can break you. We have to stand together and try to fight against that. And if we can come out on the right end of it, then what a message that shows everyone.”
This siege mentality, as McGregor describes it, isn’t just a clever soundbite. It’s become a lived reality for the players and staff, who have weathered a campaign marked by high-profile managerial changes, controversial officiating, and relentless external noise. The captain’s message to his teammates is clear: “We can come out the back end of this having still been successful even though everyone else is trying to break you.”
The narrative swirling around Celtic this season has been as turbulent as any in recent memory. The sacking of Wilfried Nancy after a disappointing run left fans and pundits alike questioning the club’s direction. Yet, in a move that reignited hope, Martin O’Neill returned to the managerial hot seat, with Shaun Maloney at his side. The impact was immediate. “Since Martin O’Neill has come in, we’ve actually done a lot of good,” McGregor observed. “You’re kind of fighting against everything else on the outside. But when you come into your building, I see a group of people who are not broken, who are up for the fight, who are actually playing some good stuff.”
Indeed, the numbers speak for themselves. In the twelve games under O’Neill and Maloney, Celtic have amassed more points than any other side in the league during that stretch. “We saw a stat the other day. In 12 games under Martin and Shaun, we’ve actually accumulated the most points. There’s the other narrative. Throw that one out there, that since these guys have come in, we’ve been the better team. Everything else, all the noise, is for everyone else to talk about. We zone in on what we can do and what we can affect and then we’ll see what the outcome is,” McGregor added, his focus unwavering.
But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. The frustration from last week’s controversial defeat to Hibernian still lingers. A red card for Auston Trusty, which McGregor labeled a “terrible decision,” left Celtic with ten men and ultimately cost them dearly. “Last week against Hibs, we lost. The red card for Auston Trusty is a really bad decision and it kills you with 20 minutes to go,” he reflected. “It’s been that type of season where, if you draw the game, it’s probably a good result. But you lose it in the last couple of minutes, which takes the sting out of anything good that did happen in the game. It’s probably been a season where the small margins have gone against you a little bit. But the boys are okay. We know where we are and where we need to be come the end of the season. There’s definitely enough quality and mentality in there to make it happen. But now it’s down to the players to go and make it happen.”
McGregor’s leadership has been instrumental in keeping the squad unified amidst adversity. According to The Celtic Blog, he’s not only read every word written about his team—often dismissive, sometimes outright hostile—but he’s also internalized the psychological warfare waged by critics and rival supporters alike. The captain understands that, for Celtic, the battle is as much mental as it is physical. “It’s almost like a siege mentality for us. There’s been a lot of conversation and chat about it. Not so much with the players, but you feel it in your everyday life. You’re not silly. You understand where the club is and the context and everything that’s happening,” McGregor explained.
He’s not alone in feeling the pressure. The sense that much of Scottish football—whether fans, media, or even governing bodies—would prefer a champion from anywhere but Celtic Park isn’t lost on the squad. “Nobody wants us to win this,” one prominent blogger noted, echoing McGregor’s sentiments. “Hibs fans probably would like to see it, but the rest of Scottish football is lining up either behind Ibrox or Tynecastle. Much of the media would prefer someone other than Celtic, and there is even a hint of a suggestion that the governing bodies themselves would prefer it if a non-Glasgow club were champions.”
Yet, for all the external skepticism, McGregor and O’Neill have adopted an aggressive, front-foot approach. There’s been no attempt to lower expectations or downplay the importance of today’s Derby. “Will it be a tough game? For sure it will be, because the crowd will be behind them. You have to manage that and manage the experience on the day. But if you’re looking at this game, I’d say both teams are good sides. It can go any way on the day,” McGregor stated, refusing to cede psychological advantage to the hosts. “The only reason people are saying (the)Rangers are favourites is because it’s a home game. We can’t do anything about that. We can’t change where the fixture is played. We just have to go and do what we have to do to make sure the game looks the way we want it to look. Hopefully we can slide the margins towards ourselves and in the end pull off what will be a big result.”
The recent 3-2 victory at Kilmarnock and a strong Europa League showing against Stuttgart have only reinforced the notion that this is a Celtic team capable of rising to the occasion. The captain’s bullishness is matched by the manager’s confidence. O’Neill, no stranger to the pressures of Glasgow, has made it clear which version of Celtic he expects to see: the one that currently holds the SPFL title, the one that refuses to wilt under pressure.
With Hearts having played two games more and a trip to Aberdeen looming midweek, the path to the title is fraught with challenges. But as McGregor and his teammates prepare to step onto the Ibrox pitch, the message is unmistakable—keep on winning, block out the noise, and let the football do the talking. The siege mentality may be real, but so too is the belief that this Celtic side can still finish the season with trophies in hand. The run-in starts now, and if McGregor’s words are any indication, Celtic are ready for the fight.