“If I retire and never get to run out at Celtic Park, it will be a massive regret for me” – James McClean

Niall McIntyre

Celtic fans will be buzzing about this.

James McClean has never been too shy to express his affinity to Celtic.

Like a true ‘Bhoy’, he’s enjoyed Rangers’ fall from grace over the last few years but not more so than Celtic’s rise.

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The West Brom winger grew up in Creggan in Derry, a place where the Parkhead club are widely supported, and speaking to the Celtic View recently, the 28-year-old emphasised the importance of this culture, heritage and pride of place in his love for the Celts.

McClean is immersed in this culture. Even though he plays for West Brom, his heart has never strayed far away from the Celtic side of Glasgow.

Indeed, he confirmed many Celtic supporter’s hopeful suspicions that he would one day love to pull on the famous hooped green and white jersey and get a run out at Celtic Park.

“Growing up where I did, there is a massive Celtic influence. Where I am from, you are born into it and you grow up with it and ever since then, it’s been a love affair. It’s a club that I grew up supporting as wee boy and I have taken that on,” said McClean.

In a revealing interview, McClean just couldn’t hide his desire to make the move to Parkhead.

“It’s always been a dream of mine. If I retire from football and never get to pull on the green-and-white jersey and run out at Celtic Park, it will be a massive regret for me. It’s a dream I have never shied away from expressing. If that dream did come true, which I hope it does, it would mean a lot to me and fingers crossed it can happen,” he added.

The Derry winger has let his intentions known, and on the back of these comments, the ball is firmly in Celtic and Brendan Rodgers’ court to make the move.

Unsurprisingly, Celtic fans were getting excited.

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