Celtic captain Callum McGregor has acknowledged that last season tested the club on and off the pitch, even as it ended with silverware in May.

Speaking to the BBC on 29 July, McGregor was candid about the campaign behind him. "There were a few circumstances that made it more challenging than perhaps it has been in the past few seasons," he said. He did not specify the particular problems, but the BBC characterised the season as one in which Celtic endured difficulties both on the field and away from it.

Despite those troubles, the squad pulled through. McGregor praised the "group of boys and the staff that pulled the team through a really difficult season," adding: "You have to make sure when you face those challenges, you can overcome them."

Celtic — the Glasgow club who dominate Scottish football, having won the domestic title in 12 of the last 13 seasons — finished the campaign with another trophy. But the manner of the journey clearly left the captain wanting more.

Looking ahead to the new season, McGregor told the BBC that the priority is not just winning, but winning well. "This season hopefully we can do it in a bit more style, the way that we're used to," he said. "Work's been going on through pre-season to make sure that happens."

For Celtic supporters, that ambition will resonate. The club's fans expect not only results but a certain brand of football — dominant, front-foot, enterprising. When the performance level dips, even a trophy can feel like it came the hard way, and McGregor's words suggest the players felt that tension too.

Pre-season is the laboratory where managers iron out tactical wrinkles and rebuild fitness after the summer break. By McGregor's account, that work is already well under way.

What gives the captain's comments weight is that he is not papering over cracks. He named the season as difficult, credited the people who got through it, and then pointed forward. For a club that measures itself against its own high standards, that is the clearest possible signal: the target this time is not just to survive the rough spells, but to make sure there are fewer of them.