Sort him out- ex Scotland coach McCall goes OTT on McGregor

Stuart McCall would like to see an opponent sort Callum McGregor out in Saturday’s Glasgow Derby.

The former Scotland coach made the appeal while on duty with BBC Scotland at Ibrox on Sunday after the win over Kilmarnock. McGregor will be one of Steve Clarke’s key players at the European Championships in June.

Celtic’s captain seems to bring to the fore the sinister side in former Rangers players, two years ago after a 3-0 defeat at Celtic Park Boyd used his column in The Sun to ask why McGregor got through a 3-0 victory ‘without anyone testing the face mask.

Against Hearts on Saturday Celtic looked like they were getting back to their best with McGregor in midfield alongside Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate in the centre of the park.

That trio have barely played together this season but since they were brought together in January 2022 Celtic have been the dominant force in Scottish football.

Concerned by that, listening to McCall on Sportsound the Daily Record reports the former Motherwell boss saying:

If, like people were saying, McGregor was back to his best for Celtic, apparently, and pulling the strings. I’d like to see somebody to go and sort him out and, for me, Sterling can do that.

He can go and play and sit on somebody who’s going to try to dictate the tempo of the game. But normally that’s a Cantwell or Lawrence who’s going to sit on a deeper midfielder.

Cantwell has been trying to get close to McGregor for over a year but hasn’t advanced beyond cryptic messages on social media including a laughable ‘haud me back’ post after last month’s 3-3 draw at Ibrox.

John Lundstram and Mohamed Diomanse seem certain of their place in Phil Clement’s midfield with uncertainty over who will get the third place.

It seems that Ibrox fans are split over whether Dujon Sterling should play at left-back, centre midfield or on the right-wing, the other midfield options seem to be Championship journeymen Lawrence or Cantwell.

There is a clear lack of a physical edge through the Celtic side with the emphasis on technique highlighted by the expected midfield trio.

McGregor, Hatate and O’Riley have started the last three matches, against Aberdeen, Dundee and Hearts, with a full week of training and the experience of previous Derby successes they will be key to whether or not Celtic are successful in Saturday’s vital SPFL clash.

CLICK HERE for McCall’s coaching career including Scotland assistant to Gordon Strachan from 2013 to 2015.

CLICK HERE for Celtic fans celebrate in Santa Ponsa.