No two ways about it, today’s Scottish Cup clash at St Mirren could have been a difficult fixture to negotiate for Celtic.

Coming off the back of two below-par performances against Aberdeen and Hibernian respectively, questions were being asked of the team to step up and show the levels that they are capable of, or potentially face an early cup exit, something that had already happened earlier on this campaign.

One of the players that has been singled out for his performances has been captain Callum McGregor, who – much like Celtic in general – has been up and down regarding his form this campaign. With the eyes of Scottish football on last season’s treble winners, it was up to the captain to deliver a safe passage into the quarter-finals of the cup.

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And my, he did deliver. A mammoth performance from beginning to end, the skipper was back to his brilliant best this afternoon, as he orchestrated his team to a comfortable 2-0 victory in Paisley. The art of ‘secondary assists’ is a fairly new concept, but it is one that should be highlighted in the first goal, as it is his intervention that gets the ball rolling in the lead-up to the opener.

After an impressive interception from Anthony Ralston, the captain turned and surveyed his options. Within seconds, he had threaded a lovely, weighted pass to Luis Palma, who motored forward towards the by-line before crossing to Kyogo, who proceeded to do what Kyogo does best.

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It was not just his ‘assisting the assister’ that was impressive on the day, though, as he put in a real captain’s performance for Rodgers’ side. Always available in the middle of the park, McGregor was a consistent option for the visitors, as he made sure that Celtic kept their winning feeling going for another game. A trophy that he knows very well, and he will be hoping to lift it for a second time as Celtic captain come May. With performances like today, he may very well be a difficult man to stop if he is in the mood.

Yes, his performances have been mixed this season, but this was a return to the type of showing that those of a Celtic persuasion revere the club’s number 42 for. A confidence in his stride left those in attendance with no doubt as to who was the top dog in midfield on the day, as his counterpart Matt O’Riley struggled to get things going alongside him. Hopefully, the Denmark cap can take inspiration from his captain, as he too was in a very similar situation just a few games ago concerning form.

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The captain was the first player over to soak up the adulation of the travelling support at full time, as those fans were only too keen to show their support for his efforts during the game.

A great individual performance from McGregor, on a day where a slip-up could have very well transpired. He will now look forward to a home tie against Livingston, one you would expect him to stamp his authority all over.