Brendan Rodgers reveals 'selfish' Celtic relief at Callum McGregor's Scotland retirement decision

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Brendan Rodgers admits he is secretly delighted that skipper Callum McGregor has called it quits on his Scotland career, and believes the midfielder can now focus on maintaining his high levels of performance at Celtic.After representing his country on 62 occasions and appearing in two major tournaments, McGregor has announced his retirement from international football following Steve Clarke's side's poor display in the European Championships in Germany where they failed to progress from Group A.

The 31-year-old has been an ever present at Parkhead in past 10 years, and made 45 appearances in all competitions last season despite missing a few weeks of action earlier this year with a hamstring problem.

Rodgers has saluted his captain's desire to make himself available for every game but also concedes that downtime during international breaks will give McGregor time to recharge his batteries for Celtic.Speaking to the media ahead of Sunday's clash with Hibs at Easter Road, he said: "I had obviously spoken to Callum on that and was aware of his intentions.

He's had a great seven years with Scotland and won 62 caps. "From a selfish point of view and for Celtic it's really good news as he'll get the chance to recover.