Callum McGregor reveals Celtic pelters Joe Hart still gets over Griffiths free kick double as he nears landmark cap

McGregor is set for a landmark appearance when Scotland take on

We used to call it being gallus. But with Callum McGregor it merely comes across as a man comfortable in his own skin and with the players he knows he has around him in a Scotland shirt.

McGregor, who will match Denis Law’s cap count of 55 while overtaking Billy Bremner, Graeme Souness and George Young against England on Tuesday, was asked a simple enough question. “Would you sacrifice a win over the Auld Enemy for the guarantee of a Norway-Georgia draw that would send you to the Euros?”

McGregor didn’t mull it over, not even for a second. “That’s an easy one – us beating England,” he said. “Because then we can just win the next game and we will qualify anyway.” The fact the next one is Spain in Seville a month tonight clearly leaves the Scotland midfielder completely unfazed. That’s what five wins on the spin in the qualifiers does for the confidence.

 

He said: “It doesn’t really matter when you qualify, you have got to get enough points. If that happens on Tuesday night, then great. But I would much rather win the game I am playing in, especially when it is such a big fixture. We then have three more games to qualify after that and we will deal with that when it comes.”

McGregor was six when Scotland last beat England in 1999. He doesn’t remember a thing about it but admits his dad was always drumming into him the importance of these matches.

And having played in the 0-0 draw at Wembley two years ago in the Euros, he’d dearly love to go one better. He smiled and said: “I don’t remember that win. I would have been running about playing football somewhere.

“But, of course, you see the Scotland-England divide, it is always there in all aspects of life. You see that. My dad never shuts up talking about the Scotland v England game. I have heard enough about it in the weeks leading up to this game.

“I am sure he will be excited on the night. He was probably at the one where they were swinging from the crossbar!

“But us as players, it is a big game. We understand what it means to the supporters, of course. When it comes to these sort of derby games, you are playing for the supporters.

“Of course, you are playing for yourself and everything that goes with that. But ultimately you are on there representing the country and representing every Scotland fan who would love to be on the pitch and do anything to get on the pitch. You have to have that in mind as well.”

The 30-year-old feels a sense of pride over the number of caps he’s accumulated in the space of less than six years. He wasn’t involved in the squad in 2017 when Leigh Griffiths scored those two free-kicks against Joe Hart in the 2-2 draw at Hampden, making his debut five months later.

He said: “That was discussed from day one when Joe arrived at Celtic! The minute Griff saw him, that was it. Obviously it was all a bit of a joke and there was banter thrown Joe’s way. Joe’s still adamant it was too far in the corner for him, so we’ll let him off with that one! It’s another great opportunity against a big nation to stamp our authority as a group and show how far we’ve come.

“Of course the previous wins have given the group belief and confidence and all these things. You can see that throughout the team. The team is full of confidence. We have to approach the game in the same way, it’s a home game and we want to win. If we continually want to progress and get to tournaments, these are the types of games you have to be competitive in on a regular basis. That is the task for us on Tuesday night.”

He may be the ultimate team player but McGregor will allow himself to reflect on how far he has come in his own career as he matches Law’s record. “Listen, they are great names, you look at that Hall of Fame list and you see so many iconic names who have done a lot in Scotland tops,” he add.

“So it would be a nice moment. But it will only be a really nice moment if we can cap it with a good performance and hopefully also a good result. I’m amazingly proud of what I’ve done with still a bit to go. My full focus will be on the game, performance and everything else.

“Then later on in your career you’ll look back and see where you’ve landed somewhere on that list. That’s why we’re in football, to leave your mark and something behind that people can talk about through generations – stories and memories. If we can get to the Euros – and obviously we’ve got three games to get there – that would be brilliant.

 

“And then we’d look forward to that as well. If those games come along, that’s where you want to be – at a major tournament and trying to make your mark, one, as an individual and, two, collectively as a group. It’s certainly something we are thinking about all the time.”