CALLUM MCGREGOR says he is ready to commit his entire career to Celtic after sealing a new five-year deal at the club.

The club captain put pen to paper on a contract extension yesterday that will keep him at Celtic until 2026, and the 28-year-old has indicated that he would even be keen to stay beyond the end of his new terms - if the club are happy to keep him.

When asked if he sees himself staying at Celtic until he retires, McGregor – who joined the club at the age of eight – replied: “Yeah, this is obviously the next stage, the next five years.

“If I manage to see that out, and it’s been a pretty successful time, we can re-evaluate.

“If they’re still happy with me then we go again. I love playing for this club. As long as they’ll have me, I’m happy to be here.

“It’s a great day and I’m just delighted to have signed on for another five years. We’ll take it step by step, I think.

“I love playing for this club, I love the idea of staying here. I’m enjoying my football – and I feel like I’m in a really good period of my career, where I can help this club move forward.

“I’m glad they feel the same and have put a lot of faith in me to drive it along. I think all parties were quite keen to do it.

“I love this club, I love everything about it. I love representing it and I love winning silverware.

“This is the only place I want to play football and I’m just delighted the club feel the same.

“It’s great for everyone that they’ve committed to a long-term contract.”

By signing a new contract, McGregor has dampened long-term speculation linking him with a move to the English Premier League, something he admits was a temptation in the past.

“I think when these things come along, you’re only human, you have to have a think about it and see where you could maybe go,” he said. “To be perfectly honest though I’ve always been super happy here.

“The club have looked after me since a young age, they’ve put a lot of faith in me, and together it’s been a great story so far with so much silverware and so much history being made.

“I’m a footballer who is desperate to win things. That’s why I played football when I was a young kid, to win.

“I feel like this is the best place to challenge yourself every day to get better and to win things, it’s as simple as that.

“I want to win and this club provides that platform for me, so I’m more than happy to stay.”

McGregor says the influence of Ange Postecoglou on his decision, and the symbiotic relationship the manager and captain enjoy, cannot be underestimated.

“He’s been massive, like you would expect,” he said.

“We have a good relationship, I see football being played the same way that he does, which is obviously vital, because his message gets filtered to me which then gets filtered to the team. We need to be on the same page in that sense.

“We get on really well, we have similar philosophies on football, and he’s been a massive factor.

“I feel the trust that he puts in me as well, so it’s a great relationship and one that I want to continue to build on.

“I believe with that, as well as with the young players and the potential we’ve got, then I see us being a successful team.

“Once we get some players back and strengthen the squad a little bit, then I think we’ve already seen flashes of what we can be this season, and we have to continue to do that on a regular basis.”