What Callum McGregor told Luke McCowan on Celtic debut as skipper lets new boy off the leash

Callum McGregor showed Luke McCowan the way and insisted the new Celtic star instantly followed the lead.

The Parkhead skipper piled praise on the deadline-day signing from Dundee and fellow £11million recruit Arne Engels after their debut cameos in the Old Firm triumph. McCowan and Engels were both by McGregor’s side come the final whistle as the champions surged past their rivals.

The Belgian looked classy after taking the place of the highly impressive Paulo Bernardo on the hour. McCowan then realised a dream when replacing Reo Hatate just moments after the captain had lashed a stunning third and clinching goal. McGregor had a word with the former Dundee star as he took to the stage and said: “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