The recent headlines concerning Celtic captain Callum McGregor have stirred up quite a bit of attention, albeit based on a misinterpretation of his comments.
Media outlets like Football Scotland have suggested that McGregor’s use of “going for 55” was a nod towards matching Rangers’ supposed tally of 55 league titles. However, this interpretation takes McGregor’s words out of their original context.
Callum McGregor ‘going for 55’ as Celtic captain makes cheeky Rangers reference 🏆
📎https://t.co/yudXzJLYAL pic.twitter.com/0Oot2shcD1
— Football Scotland ⚽️🏴 (@Football_Scot) July 26, 2024
Although Celtic are going for 55 titles, as one club this season, Callum McGregor was not addressing this.
In reality, McGregor’s mention of “55” was in response to a question about his personal fitness and readiness to handle the physical demands of the upcoming season. His full statement, “Am I up for another 55 games? Aye, for sure. Definitely. I feel fit and just can’t wait to get going,” clearly references his willingness and physical preparedness to play up to 55 games in the season, should that be required of him.
There was no cryptic message or cheeky reference intended towards Rangers or their claimed achievements.
It’s a really poor headline, but it will gather a lot of attention, which would have been the aim.
