Celtic captain Callum McGregor responds to Scotland criticism aimed at him by Graeme Souness

Celtic captain, Callum McGregor, has responded to the criticism aimed at him by former Rangers manager, Graeme Souness, for his performance for Scotland against Germany at Euro 2024.

The opening group game was the centre of attention of the footballing world as Scotland kicked off the tournament in Munich against the hosts.

And whilst expectations and excitement surrounding the game were high, Steve Clarke‘s men were humbled in a 5-1 defeat that is a record for any opening group game in the UEFA run competition.

And whilst the whole Scotland team failed to perform, former Rangers manager, Graeme Souness, levied much of his criticism towards the Celtic captain.

McGregor takes Sounsess’ assessment ‘personally’

In his post-match analysis, Souness let rip at McGregor for his part in the defeat despite Scotland’s failure, as a unit, to stop the rampant German team.

Souness said [ITV Football], “Gundogan, again, great turn, he slips Havertz in, back to Musiala, wrong-foots the Celtic captain yet again, that’s two in the same move.

“He tries to nick it here, Callum McGregor, and he gets back in, he tries to nick it again – just stay goalside and stop the effort on your goal.”

So naturally as McGregor offered his feelings on the game, the assembled media asked for his thoughts on the criticism and the Celtic captain vowed to prove Souness wrong.

McGregor said [The Scottish Sun], “Yes, you do. I think if anyone has a pop at you, you take it personally and you try to prove them wrong. So, yeah.”

One thing you can be guaranteed about Callum McGregor is that he will bounce back from the criticism by Souness.

The Celtic captain is a born winner and he has had to deal with much of that same kind of criticism throughout last season as the media narrative towards Rangers‘ title hopes ramped up.

McGregor proved Celtic’s critics wrong by doing his talking on the pitch and delivering a league and Scottish Cup double.

I fully expect the Hoops hero to do the same for Scotland to help deliver a double result at the Euros in the upcoming games against Switzerland and Hungary.