Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor has opened up on how he caught the eye of former Hoops manager Ronny Deila and earned his first team chance.
It was in July 2014, in a Champions League qualifier against KR Reykjavik, that McGregor, a Celtic academy product, made his first team debut for the Scottish Premiership champions.
Determined to break onto the Bhoys' first team scene, a 21-year-old McGregor, who had freshly returned from a loan at Notts County, decided to do some extra training on his own.
Fortunately for him, Celtic's then new boss Deila happened to walk past the window and was left impressed after spotting the young midfielder practicing alone, McGregor revealed.
Deila, who had just taken the helm in June, went on to give the 26-year-old his senior team debut against Reykjavik and the midfielder repaid his faith by scoring a goal on the night, which McGregor admits was a huge confidence booster.
"Ronny had just come in, and I was just doing a bit of extra training on the pitch in the afternoon", McGregor told Celtic View (page 22).
"And maybe it takes something like that to catch someone's eye and give you that wee half-chance you need.
"So I'm glad he was walking past the window at that point and saw me.
"Every day I knew I had to come back with a point to prove and, and that summer was the biggest turning point for me because Ronny saw me doing the extra training and he quite liked that.
"Someone else might have walked straight past it and thought nothing of it, but the timing was right, and I managed to get my chance, come in and do well."
McGregor also admits that making an impact on his debut hugely helped his case.
"Scoring on my debut obviously helped as well.
"You look back at some of the boys who've come through – James scored on his debut, as did Aiden McGeady – so when you're at such a big club and you come into the team, to make that immediate impact certainly does help your profile and ensuring that you stay at the front of the queue."
McGregor has now made over 250 appearances for Celtic since making his debut in 2014, helping the team win the league title in each season since then.
