Thoughtful Callum McGregor has admitted the advent of his 27th birthday today has made him reflect on the fleeting nature of a career in top level football.
The midfielder was a late starter at the Hoops, making his debut aged 20 against Reykjavik in a European tie - although he did make his customary impact by scoring the winner.
And in the years that have gone by, the Scotland star has made a concerted effort to enjoy the moments that matter as his career has developed.
But time has ebbed away quickly and McGregor admits wistful reminiscence of the years he and colleague James Forrest were the young pups in the squad.
He told the Celtic website : “Normally I’m pretty much off for the off-season for my birthday, so it’s fallen quite nicely that I’m off this time as well.
“We were talking about it this week - Jamesie's turning 29 in a few weeks’ time and I’m turning 27.
"It wasn’t too long ago that we were the younger guys in the squad, so it just shows you that time and your career just flies so quickly, and you need to enjoy every minute of it, which I’m sure that we’ve done.
“Things have relaxed slightly , so it’ll be good to see my family and celebrate a little bit, but now that the football’s back on, I’m already starting to think about the season. But it’ll be a nice day, a nice afternoon and hopefully we’ll have a bit of good weather too.”
McGregor feels he's come a long way as a player since breaking into the team under Ronny Deila in 2014.
He said: “I feel that I’ve progressed well in my career from my early days into where I am now.
"To be sitting here with a lot of trophies and nearly 300 appearances for Celtic – as a young kid when you’re coming through the Academy, you dream of making a first-team appearance.
"So to be so lucky and fortunate to make nearly 300 appearances, and hopefully many more, then I think myself very, very lucky and it’s something that I can cherish.”
