Callum McGregor is a great captain. We need to be thinking about who’s next.

I’ll start this piece by admitting it right now; my favourite Celtic player is not Maeda.

Instead he wears, number 42, the fantastic Callum McGregor, our captain. From the very beginning, he was the guy I most enjoyed watching. When I first saw him play, I was so impressed that I said to myself: “This is the right man in the right position. He was born to be a captain, and he’s simply a joy to watch.”

Some people, including a few of my Celtic-supporting friends, argue that Scott Brown was better, in terms of his leadership.

After one loss – the one at Ibrox – one of them even messaged me saying, “Scott Brown would never have allowed this to happen!”

But I think he was just frustrated and lashing out that day. I couldn’t agree with him. Scott Brown is a Celtic legend, no doubt about it, but you can’t denigrate Callum McGregor just because you’re angry after one bad result. McGregor isn’t just a leader on the pitch—he embodies the unity and excellence that Celtic stands for.

Before I continue celebrating Callum McGregor, I want to take a step back and talk about John McGinn—someone who once had a chance to wear the armband but saw that opportunity vanish into thin air.

McGinn is a brilliant player for the Scotland national team, representing his country with pride. But how did he lose his chance to captain Celtic? Or was that chance taken from him? I’ve never agreed with many of the decisions made by Celtic’s upper management, and this was one of those times.

The way they handled the McGinn situation was ridiculous.

Peter Grant once spoke about why McGinn didn’t sign for Celtic, and his explanation was pretty absurd; all this “lure of the Premier League” and the rest of it. The real reason was clear to most Celtic fans—it was down to Peter Lawwell mishandling the situation. Lawwell tried to lowball Hibernian, thinking he could outsmart Rod Petrie by offering trivial amounts and insisting they either accept or risk McGinn signing a pre-contract with us. But first, Petrie didn’t want to sell McGinn to Celtic for a relatively low fee, and McGinn didn’t want to wait for his move. In the end, Lawwell’s miscalculation allowed Aston Villa to swoop in and capitalise on our hesitation.

McGinn faced a choice: wait for Celtic, taking a massive career risk, or secure a solid move to England. You can’t blame him for choosing as he did. He wanted his career to thrive, to develop as a player, and Celtic’s dithering cost us a top talent.

This is important in the here and now; as Callum approaches the end of his time in the Hoops it is imperative that we do not make the mistake we did then. The reason John McGinn is important here is that he was the heir apparent to Scott Brown; that’s how the manager wanted it to be. Celtic’s failure was one of the key reasons the manager felt that he could not remain at the club.

And yet, as happened in January with Kyogo’s departure and our failure to sign a replacement which led to Maeda’s stunning form, losing out on McGinn allowed McGregor to step up and stake his own claim. He has been exemplary since.

He embodies the spirit of the club. He’s like a father figure to the Celtic squad, leading them with composure and reliability. He has been named Man of the Match countless times, has won 23 medals, lifted nine league titles, and made over 500 appearances for Celtic. He’s not just a captain in name—he leads by example. He is the perfect one-man manifestation of what Celtic is all about.

He was brilliant for his country too; I haven’t watched a lot of Scotland but I remember fleeting moments of his in action. In a match between Scotland and Austria, a low-angle sideline camera captured him in action. The ball was heading his way, and he was surrounded near the sideline by Austrian players. Many players in that situation would panic, try to shield the ball, hope for a free kick, or simply boot it out of play. But McGregor knew exactly what was needed—he calmly redirected the ball to Billy Gilmour, keeping Scotland’s attack alive.

I have many favourite moments of him in the Hoops; I like to watch videos of his previous goals, and one of the best is his strike in the 2018 Scottish Cup Final, when Celtic beat Motherwell 2-0.

McGregor’s goal was a thing of beauty. He capitalises on a poor clearance, moves into the ball although two men stand between him and getting to it, and yet he takes one touch to get it under control and then he strikes it on the half-volley, and the ball rocketed into the net at warp speed. Even in slow motion, it looked fast. He has a habit of scoring the screamers; almost every time he scores it’s a moment of pure brilliance; that day, he put in a world-class goal from a world-class leader.

Now, rumours are swirling about his successor. Alistair Johnston and Lennon Miller have been mentioned as potential future Celtic captains. McGregor is 31 now, and the club has a couple of years to think about his eventual replacement. But let’s be honest—he will be tough to replace.

Rodgers has always taken succession planning seriously; he will have an idea as to who he thinks the next captain should be. The job of preparing that person needs to start as soon as possible. If it’s someone already at the club, Rodgers will be laying the groundwork and McGregor will be encouraging and offering support. If it’s someone we have identified but yet to sign, the lessons of John McGinn should be fresh in the memory. We cannot countenance another failure like that.

McGregor isn’t just a great footballer with exceptional technical skills—his passing, close control, and ability to score from range make him stand out.

But his biggest strength is his character. He thrives in pressure situations, lifts trophies, and leads with authority. He’s a fitting follower to all those other greats who have worn the armband as Celtic’s captain, legends like Billy McNeill.

When he eventually hangs up his boots, he won’t just be remembered as a Celtic legend; he graced the Scotland strip with distinction for many years, and he’ll go down in history as one of the country’s best players.

But in strictly Celtic terms, he will be held up as one of our greatest-ever captains—a true leader, a role model, and an inspiration for generations to come. He will leave big shoes behind him for someone to fill. That job can’t wait until he’s almost out the door.

Paulina Jaczek is a Celtic fan, and writer, from Poland. She regularly posts her videos on Facebook, and can be found on YouTube at GlasgowMyLove, where she talks about her love for Celtic and Glasgow in her trademark traffic cone hat!

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