Callum McGregor is a veteran of the Glasgow derby, having played 42 times against Rangers over the past 11 years. And the Celtic captain is hoping that he’ll chalk up another appearance this Sunday when the Hoops play host to their city rivals. McGregor has been going through some individual training at Lennxotown this week as he looks to shrug off a niggling injury but he’s aiming to train with the squad tomorrow and be ready for Sunday’s 12.30pm kick-off at Paradise. Speaking at Lennxtown today, the Hoops skipper said: “To play for Celtic is a huge honour and you have put yourself in the position that many, many supporters would do. “You have to play through the pain barrier and give yourself every chance to be involved in these games because, one, it means so much to the club and, two, it means a lot personally as well. “You want to play in these games and these are the game which, as football players, are the best days. ‘So when you bring all that together, you feel a huge sense of responsibility to push as hard as you possibly can to make sure you’re available.’ “It’s such a big game with huge expectations, and the atmosphere is enough to get you through it anyway, so I’ll certainly be doing everything I can. “I did a bit of work this morning and felt okay, so I’ll try and join the group tomorrow and then hopefully be ready for Sunday.”Celtic go into the game 16 points clear of Rangers at the top of the Premiership, and with just nine league games remaining, Brendan Rodgers’ side are homing in on a fourth consecutive title. However, no one within the Celtic camp is looking beyond the 90 minutes ahead and the need to get another three vital points. “These games are important, and especially the home team starting well,” McGregor said. “If you can get on top of the game, the crowd come with you and it’s an amazing atmosphere, so we’ll had a lot of good experiences at home in that type of situation and starting the game in that manner. ‘We’ve scored a few early goals and we’ve set the tone early in the game so you have to try and maximize all of that.’ “There was a freshness about the squad last week and it’s probably as good as we’ve been for a while – the hunger, willingness to run, freshness, get inside the pressure, get the ball back and Hibs struggled to live with that. “So if we can bring a similar level of performance, then we hope that that’s enough to give us a good day. “I thought it was a brilliant atmosphere last weekend. It was really good. It was a good game of football and we played to a really high level and more supporters being in the stadium gives that kind of atmosphere, so it was great. “And we’re expecting similar again this weekend. I think everybody’s probably looking forward to seeing how the fixture plays out and can that be the template for moving forward and maybe trying to get even more in for both fixtures. ‘So this will be good. Everybody’s looking forward to it and the players are raring to go as well.’ This will be the fourth meeting between the sides this season, with the home side coming out on top on the two previous league encounters, while there were green and white ribbons on the League Cup trophy after a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory in the final at Hampden. And regardless of the fact that the most recent meeting saw the Hoops lose at Ibrox, Callum McGregor and his team-mates go into this Sunday’s game full of confident. “Celtic Park has been excellent for us over a number of years now, so we’ve maximized that and the players have generally performed really well in this fixture, especially at home,” he said. “We have a nice bit of experience to draw on from that but, again, we have to do all the right things when it comes to Sunday. We’ve got to run and work hard and do all the things you need to do in derby games. “So we take it in isolation but, of course, there’s a little bit of a confidence there of what we’re been like previously, and we have a nice template to go from, so if the players do that and they give everything, then I’m sure we’ll have a positive day.” more on the match Celtic TV Exclusive: Manager looks ahead to the derby –
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