Paul Lambert has watched on as Callum McGregor has blossomed and matured into a fine Celtic captain this season.

Eyebrows were raised when McGregor inherited the armband from long-serving skipper Scott Brown in the summer.

Brown was dubbed, 'Captain, Leader, Legend' after 14 years of unparalleled success.

There were doubters who believed the less outwardly demonstrative McGregor might not be a natural fit for such a prominent leadership role.

Lambert is a decorated skipper, has walked in those shoes and knows better than most the challenges that lie in wait.

The former Celtic and Scotland midfielder lifted four Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups, two League cups and skippered the club to the 2003 UEFA cup final.

Lambert insists that McGregor - who won the 2021/22 PFA Scotland Player of the Year - is now well on his way to establishing himself as a legendary leader in his own right.

And while some will suggest filling Scott Brown's boots was an unenviable task, the Champions League winner insists that's not how top Celtic players think.

He said: "I don't think it was hard for Callum McGregor to take over the Celtic captaincy from Scott Brown. It is either in you or it is not.

"A lot of it depends on your character and I don't think he ever thought, 'I am taking over this role from Scott Brown'.

"As a footballer, you never do that as you are your own person and if you have that insecurity in yourself you will never move on.

"Callum looks easy with it and I would be shocked if he felt that he had big shoes to fill after Scott Brown vacated the building.

"I think Callum had that in his make-up and I believe the captaincy was always in him. There was no doubt he could take on the responsibility no problem.

"Tom Boyd inherited the Celtic captaincy from one of the greatest ever players of my generation - Paul McStay.

"Paul took over from Roy Aitken who took over from Danny McGrain who took over from Kenny Dalglish who took over from Billy McNeill.

"Going down that line - they were all big boots to fill as Celtic captain, illustrious names and big characters!

"Callum McGregor can add his own name to that list and become one of them if he can lift the league trophy this season. He'll absolutely love it if he does. The rewards of being a winning Celtic captain are monumental. That will be a very special moment for him."

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The aggression and bombast of the traditional captain is no longer what we necessarily look for in leaders today and Lambert pinpoints McGregor's bravery to take the ball in any situation and rarely give it away as a sign of his credentials.

But it's the midfielder's levels of consistency, which he believes marks the creative midfielder out as an eight or nine out of 10 rated performer every week, that make him stand out amongst a group of excellent Hoops players.

Lambert said: "I spoke to him on Sunday night when he won the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award and I told him his levels this season had been brilliant.

"That is the secret of being successful. He never dips and you always got the same out of him.

"He looks every inch a Celtic captain. He is the one that should have the responsibility in that role.

"This is a relatively new team and there are many nationalities in that dressing room.

"Callum knows the club inside out, knows how it works and the demands of winning every game.

"The only time you notice a drop in Callum's standards is when he does not get on the ball.

"You need courage as a Celtic player to take the ball in every moment and be available for the pass.

"I always thought he was a class footballer but the biggest thing at Celtic is that you never hide - it is too big an arena to go missing.

"You always have to take the ball whether you are playing good, bad or indifferent. Callum does that.

"Ask any Celtic player if you have the courage to take the ball under that pressure in that environment then you will handle anything that's for sure. 

"I loved the pressure of wearing that armband and having to win football matches.

"I was used to winning big matches having come from Borussia Dortmund and I would never go into hiding.

"Everybody knows you have big balls to go and do that.

"If you're not having a good game your touch has got to be right and he has got that in abundance.

"Callum never gives the ball away and you notice that.

"I watch him as an ex-midfielder and I see his movements and the positions he takes up on the pitch, I notice the slick one-touch, two-touch passing. I see him looking over his shoulder or not looking over his shoulder and he always finds space for himself.

"Good players make the game look easy and that is because they know where they should be at all times on a football pitch."

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The 52-year-old admits that in McGregor, Ange Postecoglou has a model professional at his disposal whom he could trust implicitly to relay his message to his teammates both at training and during games.

"We never stop" has been Celtic's mantra all season.

Lambert revealed that those words are a variation on a similar theme when he was the skipper.

The demands were simply that you had to keep peaking in order to win football matches both domestically and in Europe.

Lambert admits that on many occasions this season it has been McGregor's leadership qualities which have shone through for Ange Postecoglou's side.

He was the driving force in the 2-1 victory over Rangers last month that opened up a six-point gap at the top of the table and paved the way for Celtic to clinch the league title.

Lambert was also hugely impressed by McGregor's post-match huddle in the aftermath of the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat at Hampden Park where he rallied his dejected troops on the Hampden turf.

Lambert said: "I was genuinely impressed when Callum got the team together after the defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden and you saw at that moment that he was already telling the players to let it go and move on.

"That's the actions of a real captain and a leader.

"Callum has been the glue that has held everything together on the park this season with a Celtic team full of different nationalities.

"In that regard, he's has been great for Ange Postecoglou as well.

"When you are the captain of Celtic you simply have to win every week. You know you have to perform.

"The demands at the club are that you win trophies and be successful.

"The best thing about being the captain is lifting silverware. If and when Celtic do go on to win the Scottish Premiership title then Callum will find all that out for himself."

Paul Lambert and many Celtic captains before him lived that dream.

McGregor's time is coming soon enough.