​Callum McGregor has been the subject of many rumours regarding his future at the club, with many believing, after his decision to change agents, that he could be about to reunite with former boss Brendan Rodgers in Saudi Arabia.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut speaking in the run up to last night’s pre-season friendly with Sporting CP, the serial winning Celtic captain seemed to be fully focussed on his pre season activities and the new season beyond as he laid down the standards he expects from within the squad.Callum McGregor of Celtic FC (L) vies with Geny Catamo of Sporting CP (R) for the ball possession during the Sporting CP v Celtic FC Pre-Season Friendly match at Estadio Algarve on July 14, 2026 in Faro, Portugal. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues)The skipper said in an interview with Celtic TV AKA CelticPlayer:  “Yeah, basically, can we be the best version of Celtic we can be? I think that’s always the start point, obviously, there’ll be challenges for the season, hopefully, not as many as what we had last season, but, for sure there will be challenges, there’ll be, there’ll be disappointment, I’ve pretty much said it in every preseason trip.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“At some point in the season, we will all be tested, the character will be tested, the team will be tested in that sense, so it’s how we’re reacting, and deal with pressure, and deal with setbacks.“So a lot of the work that you do in preseason, when you’re tired, when the sessions are long, it’s finding that, something mental’s trying to get through it, and that’s what will carry us through difficult moments throughout the season.”Callum McGregor of Celtic FC (L) vies with Ricardo Mangas of Sporting CP (R) for the ball possession during the Sporting CP v Celtic FC Pre-Season Friendly match at Estadio Algarve on July 14, 2026 in Faro, Portugal. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues Getty Images)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCalmac added: “So, you know, initially, when we start, everyone is the perfect idea of how we want the team to look, and for sure we’re always working, trying to get that as good as we can be, you know, fast attacking football, trying to score loads of goals, trying to be good on counter-press, no conceding as many goals as we can.“So we have all those targets that we always start with. Then again, probably last season, that was the most pleasing aspect of that is how the players dealt with adversity. So we will need that again. But like I said, hopefully it’s sort of fewer times throughout the season because we are being dominant.”Issa Doumbia of Sporting CP (L) vies with Callum McGregor of Celtic FC (R) for the ball possession during the Sporting CP v Celtic FC Pre-Season Friendly match at Estadio Algarve on July 14, 2026 in Faro, Portugal. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues Getty Images)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPressed on if he was “motivated” to defend the Scottish title, the skipper of