An impressive 3-0 win over the Rangers in the Glasgow Derby sent Celtic top of the Scottish Premiership after a long, long time. And it is safe to say that the fans were delighted with the result. It had been a few years since they had defeated the Ibrox side and it must have come as a relief. Now, the Hoops sit a point clear at first but will know that there is a long league season left to be played.

Leagues are not won in early February but even then, the result must have been a huge confidence booster for Celtic. Not only did they defeat the Rangers, but they completely outplayed Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side. It could have easily been a 5-0 or 6-0 victory on another day.

One surprise inclusion on the day was Callum McGregor. The Celtic captain had suffered a facial injury against Alloa Athletic but played on the day with a protective mask on.

And Ange Postecoglou has revealed what McGregor told him ahead of the Glasgow Derby. As reported by The Scottish Sun, the Celtic manager said:

“Callum was outstanding again – the fact that he even played tonight was incredible.

“But he is the kind of leader people follow.

“It is a credit to him.

“He never ruled himself out from the first day, he knew how important this game was.

“We have significant absences. But he trained yesterday and we had a chat with him.

“He said: ‘I am going to play, I am fine, no problems,’ when a lot of players wouldn’t have done that.”

McGregor played an important role in Celtic’s win over the Rangers

For the most part, it had looked like McGregor was set to miss the game against the Rangers. He had not played in the past couple of matches after suffering the injury and many rumours had even suggested that he might end up needing surgery.

The Celtic captain returned to the pitch at Parkhead in the Glasgow Derby and played his part as the Hoops went top of the table.

Overall, things have been looking up for Celtic while the Rangers have struggled since the return from the winter break. It will be interesting to see how they do when Aaron Ramsey comes into their playing XI. On the other hand, for Postecoglou’s side, it is about keeping up these performances moving forward.

This article was originally posted here