Luke McCowan had the baptism of fire on Sunday, making his Celtic debut in the Glasgow Derby win, replacing Reo Hatate in the second half.
As the captain, Callum McGregor took it upon himself to ensure that McCowan, who made the deadline day switch from Dundee, felt empowered and supported as he stepped onto the pitch in such a big match.
The advice from McGregor to “just go and run about” simplified the game for McCowan, allowing him to play with freedom and focus on leveraging his strengths rather than being overwhelmed and under pressure by the occasion.
Speaking on his conversation with the new signing, McGregor said: [RecordSport]
“He’s got massive quality. When you come into a game like that, it’s always good to have your mates around you and just look after them and the new guys, just settle them in.
“I just said to him, ‘Go and play, you’ve got massive quality, just go and run about, I’ll be with you, so let’s just go’. He was fantastic when he came on. To be thrown into a game like that, big expectation, big pressure, he was excellent.
“You probably look at the success the club have had over a number of years now – there’s always been a really good Scottish, British core. It’s important when the guys come in, they understand what the club’s about, the standards, the pressure to win and play well.
“So as many of them and the good ones that you can get inside your building all fighting together and helping the thing, it puts you in really good stead. He’s technically very good, can get about the pitch and hopefully now we bring him in, show him the system, he learns, he gets better from there. But he’s certainly got all the attributes to do well and he’s in a great group to learn as well. I’ve got no worries for him.”
It was a dream come true for McCowan on Sunday, making his debut for the club he supported in the derby.
McCowan may not be a glamour signing for Celtic, but he’s a great piece of business. He was a star for Dundee last season and started this season off strongly too. He’s a good player to have in the squad and someone who can be relied upon to step into midfield and put in a shift when asked to.
He wasn’t the only player to make his Celtic debut, with Arne Engels replacing Paulo Bernardo on the hour mark.
