Celtic captain’s high opinion of Aston Villa skipper John McGinn

The Celtic Star

·29 de janeiro de 2025

Celtic captain’s high opinion of Aston Villa skipper John McGinn

Celtic’s Callum McGregor has revealed that both he and his teammates are super motivated to give a good account of themselves and ultimately, get a good result against Aston Villa tonight at Villa Park in Birmingham…

Callum McGregor of Celtic during the UEFA Champions League training on January 28, 2025 in Birmingham. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The two clubs face-off in what will surely be an entertaining climax to our UEFA Champions League group stage campaign and the captain is looking for a big performance.

Vídeos OneFootball

With both teams already qualified for the knockout rounds regardless of how it pans out later on this evening, the motivation for a win is a higher finish in the final group standings, an easier draw in the next round, a potential to avoid a play-off and more money for their respective clubs’. The Hoops sit on 12 points with Villa a point ahead on 13 and a strong showing will be required to be at a result against a team that has beaten Bayern Munich at home this season.

‘We are an ambitious group’

Callum McGregor admitted that the group are now looking at the table and seeing how strongly they can finish this phase of the European adventure, with the allure of the knockouts now in plain sight. Speaking to Celtic TV, the skipper said: “We are now looking up the table, and that has to be the aim for the players. We are an ambitious group. We always try to push each other every single day, and this is another big opportunity as well.

“You come to a stadium like Villa Park, you want to perform well, perform strong, and show what you can do. That’s very much the motivation for the group. You’re looking up the table, you’ve got the play-off games coming, and you want to arrive into that in the best possible shape as well.”

Calmac on John McGinn

Aston Villa’s captain John McGinn celebrates after the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park on December 9, 2023. Aston Villa wins 1 – 0 against Arsenal. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP

Whilst the team will be without several key starters, there could be a return to action for Villa captain and ex-Scotland teammate of McGregor’s, John McGinn. A self-confessed Celtic fan, Callum doesn’t think that will count for much tonight!

“Obviously he will want to win, and I will want to win.” McGregor said. “I’ve played with John for a number of years at international level. He’s a great guy and a great player as well, and both of us will be desperate to win the game.”

Jota rejoices in Celtic return. Photo Kenny Ramsay.

Although we have lost a key player for this one and moving forward in Kyogo Furuhashi, the club have moved to bring Jota back home this window and Callum expressed his delight at that, even though he can’t play in this one at Villa Park.

Calmac said of Jota’s homecoming: “There’s been a big buzz about him coming back. He was immense the first time around, but the most important part now is the football. Having spoken to him over the last couple of days, he’s super hungry to come back and make his time even stronger here as well.”

The Celtic skipper added: “It’s always good to see players come with a point to prove and want to be successful. Once we get all the pleasantries out the way, it’s down to football. He’s a top player who wants to work hard for the team. We will certainly be doing our maximum to get the most out of him and the rest of the players and have a strong second half of the season.”

Paul Gillespie