Rare downtime had Callum McGregor keeping tabs on 4 Celtic new boys as trip abroad recharged skipper's batteries

Tireless Callum McGregor could have given the Energiser Bunny a run for its money in recent years.

And, a bit like that famous relentless rabbit, it’s difficult for the Celtic skipper finding the off switch. McGregor got some downtime over the last fortnight in the first international break since he called time on his Scotland career. The 31-year-old grabbed some sun abroad – and he admitted he only caught some of the national team’s Nations League defeats to Poland and Portugal.

He wasn’t quite sitting with his feet up, sinking cans of beer and munching pasties from Greggs while on a Netflix boxset marathon but it was a chance for the midfielder to recharge his batteries. McGregor – who scooped the player of the month award for August – smiled: “Aye, an old school summer! No, it was good actually. The first part of the week we were in here at Lennoxtown and then I managed to get to Spain for a few days so a wee bit of warm weather and come back with the cold as usual!

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“But it’s always nice to get two or three days off in a row because you go for large spells of the year and you don’t get many days off at all so it’s just nice to change the scenery and then when you come back in you’ve got that energy again. I watched a little bit of it actually, I probably missed the first half an hour of the Poland game then I turned it on and the boys did really well.

“The guys were unlucky and they performed really well. So the next step is just to try and get some points next month. I just tried to switch off and just tried to stay away from football.

“Well, football’s one of these things where it just follows you about your life anyway. So even if you do try and switch off there are always people trying to remind you of what’s happening and what’s going on.

“You do carry it everywhere you go but for the two or three days I was off I just wanted to try and switch off and get that energy back and just keep going. It was a strange break but it was nice as well. I think it’s probably later on in the season where you might feel the benefit of it.”

McGregor grabbed some rays but also got to shine a light on Celtic’s new recruits, with Arne Engels, Luke McCowan, Austin Trusty and Alex Valle getting the chance to find their feet after checking in during the last week of the transfer window.

McGregor said: “It’s been nice to get to know them a wee bit better as well and I’m sure over the next six weeks we’ll get a lot of time together and start to learn about their personalities and how they train and what they do when they’re away from here. But the early signs have been excellent and we just keep pushing and keep trying to get the most out of us.”

Engels was the blockbuster move of the window, with the Belgian playmaker arriving in a record £11m deal. McGregor knows that kind of dosh comes with big demand and the first impressions suggest Celtic have landed a top player.

The skipper has urged some patience though as the playmaker needs time to get used to his new surroundings. McGregor said: “The sort of money that was spent (on Engels), then straight away everybody sits up and there’s big expectation.

“From what I’ve seen of him so far he looks like a top player, he has a brilliant attitude, has settled into the group really well, his training level’s been excellent. So everybody’s right to have that expectation. But we have to be careful that we look after him as well and we don’t just throw him in and it becomes a bit chaotic.

“He’s a top player and will develop and get even better. But when he comes into our group then our job as the lads is to look after him and let him feel his way in because we know we’ve got a top player there. It’s just about bedding him in nicely and getting him going and I’m sure he’ll repay that in spades.

“Everybody wants everything at the drop of a hat and expectation level is there because of the money that we’ve spent. But just give him time and let him settle in and let him feel his way in and look after him and then I’m pretty sure at that point you’ll see his quality and his level. That’s our job as a club and as players in the dressing room. He’s a confident lad and he’s looked really good so far but we always have to have one eye on trying to look after him as well and that will get the best out of him.”

Engels got a taste in the Old Firm win before the break and he’s added to a squad that is now bursting with options for boss Brendan Rodgers.

The new Bhoys are in the frame to face Hearts today and McGregor said: “I think that’s something that the gaffer’s mentioned since he came back through the door. He wants the squad to be as strong as it possibly can and that’s what happens when you start spending that type of money. You’ve got a really good core already.

“I think everybody wants that, I think you speak to the players, elite football at this level is ruthless and you want competition for places. It’s the only way to keep the level high and keep driving standards.”