{"id":546808,"date":"2025-11-03T19:03:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T19:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/546808\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T19:03:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T19:03:18","slug":"callum-mcgregor-pinpoints-major-celtic-difference-under-martin-oneill-as-unsung-heroes-given-their-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/546808\/","title":{"rendered":"Callum McGregor pinpoints major Celtic difference under Martin O’Neill as unsung heroes given their place"},"content":{"rendered":"

O’Neill has transformed the mood around Celtic Park since make a stunning return\"MartinMartin O’Neill and Callum McGregor(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Callum McGregor admits Martin O\u2019Neill<\/a> has completely transformed the mood at Celtic with his trademark positivity.<\/p>\n

The Hoops skipper says the legendary boss has reignited the dressing room since his stunning return to the dugout.<\/p>\n

Celtic<\/a> had endured a worrying slump in Brendan Rodgers\u2019 final few months, adding to the toxic atmosphere surrounding the club.<\/p>\n

But O\u2019Neill\u2019s shock comeback has sparked a revival, with back-to-back wins over Falkirk and Rangers<\/a> restoring belief among players and fans alike.<\/p>\n

McGregor was left gutted by the nature of Rodgers\u2019 exit but insists O\u2019Neill has galvanised the champions after a turbulent campaign.<\/p>\n

The captain said: “He’s been great. Someone with huge experience and has been around the block so many times. A really calm influence.<\/p>\n

“He was exceptional. He asked for the intensity from the players and I think in the first-half, you could see.<\/p>\n

“We pretty much won every duel, every first ball, every second ball. We were excellent. He was a big part of that. A real calm head.<\/p>\n

“He asked us to go and play, believe in yourself and you’ll go and win the game. So he’s been excellent.<\/p>\n

“You want to work with top, top managers and he’s someone who has been around the block a fair few times.<\/p>\n

“His experience, he’s managed at such a high level. He’s come in and just pumped everyone full of confidence.<\/p>\n

“The players feel good. They want to run, fight and that’s exactly what you need in this game. He’s been excellent since he’s come in.”<\/p>\n

McGregor – who scored a screamer to give Celtic the lead at Hampden in extra-time<\/a> – also heaped praise on the interim coaching staff of Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus for guiding the squad through a traumatic week.<\/p>\n

He said: “It’s a collective effort. It always has been, it always will be. The staff behind the manager have been so, so good this week.<\/p>\n

“Just having that continuity of message, the training level, it’s all interconnected. The manager can’t do it on his own.<\/p>\n

“He needs his backroom staff and it’s the same that players can’t do it on their own. We need everybody.<\/p>\n

“So it’s a real collective effort and that’s something I’m super proud of in the past week.”<\/p>\n

\"CelticCeltic captain Callum McGregor is mobbed by team mates<\/p>\n

Celtic will now play St Mirren in next month’s Hampden showpiece as they look to defend their trophy.<\/p>\n

And McGregor reckons the priceless win over Rangers can be a major turning point in the season.<\/p>\n

He admitted: “I think it was a big day. If you don’t win, it probably just heaps more pressure on what’s been a challenging start to the season.<\/p>\n

“The slate was cleaned, the performance on Wednesday night was excellent and then to come and deliver on a big day today, it shows me how much talent and ambition is in that dressing room as well.”<\/p>\n

Rookie strikers Johnny Kenny and Callum Osmand also announced themselves as Celtic players by netting in the 3-1 win.<\/p>\n

Irish target man Kenny bagged a brace in the midweek thumping of Falkirk, while Welsh teen Osmand made his senior debut.<\/p>\n

McGregor added: “It’s always an opportunity for every player when they come in. They are working so, so hard to develop to the level of the first-team boys.<\/p>\n

“Johnny scored two during the week and you just know – I’ve been around football for a long time – I just knew that he would have an impact today.<\/p>\n

“And he has taken himself to another level in terms of status now scoring against Rangers. So he’ll be brimming with confidence.<\/p>\n

“The same with young Ozzy. He’s been working so, so hard in the time he’s been out of the squad. But he’s a player who trains so, so hard every day.<\/p>\n

“He has a nice finish as well, so he’s one that’s just going to keep developing and strikers with confidence can go and conquer the world.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"O’Neill has transformed the mood around Celtic Park since make a stunning returnMartin O’Neill and Callum McGregor(Image: PA)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[2629,2628,94,21839,1946,1638,7081,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-546808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-callum-mcgregor","9":"tag-celtic-fc","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-premier-sports-cup","12":"tag-rangers-fc","13":"tag-scottish-premiership","14":"tag-scottish-professional-football-league","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115487324256236116","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}