I hope Brendan was watching the Cup Final. If not, I’ll be sending him a DVD
FoR Anthony stokes, a season of frustration turned into one of elation following his starring role for Hibernian in their first scottish Cup triumph in 114 years.
The Irish striker had been frozen out at Celtic by Ronny Deila after Tweeting his annoyance at being left shivering in the stands during a trip to Inverness in November.
sent on loan to Easter Road, where he initially struggled to make an impact, stokes duly emerged from the darkness in stunning fashion with a man-ofthe-match performance against Rangers.
Playing like a man possessed, his two goals in a thrilling 3-2 victory saw him become part of Hibs folklore. Now the Dubliner hopes his cup exploits can help him do the same at Parkhead.
stokes still has a year option on his contract, which Celtic are yet to take up, but Deila’s departure has left him hopeful of getting a chance to impress new boss Brendan Rodgers.
And, just in case the Northern Irishman wasn’t watching his Hampden masterclass, stokes is taking special measures to ensure he remains part of what looks like an exciting future at the scottish champions.
‘Fingers crossed Brendan Rodgers watched the scottish Cup Final. If not, I will be sending him a DVD,’ laughed the 27-year-old.
‘It’s a great appointment for Celtic. He’s managed at the highest level in the English Premier League. He did a terrific job at swansea and, in his first full season at Liverpool, he had them competing for the title for the first time in a while. He is a manager with a lot of stature and he’s a Celtic fan as well, which helps.
‘With swansea and Liverpool, you look at his style of play and it’s attacking, it’s entertaining. It’s always close, tight play and a high, pressing game. It is total football and I genuinely think it will suit the way Celtic want to play football. I’m sure the Celtic fans are delighted.
‘I’ve always said since day one that I wanted to go back to Celtic. It was always in the back of my head that I’d be able to do that. But, when the decision is taken out of your hands, there’s not a lot you can do.
‘You can only concentrate on the football and, hopefully, let that do the talking. Hopefully, I will get an opportunity to get back to Celtic and prove myself.’
Even when stokes was handed a starting place by Deila, it was on the left-hand side instead of in the central striking role he craves.
Falling out of favour at Parkhead almost certainly cost him a place in the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2016 squad but he doesn’t hold any bitterness against the Norwegian.
‘I was playing out of position (under Deila), very much as a left winger,’ said stokes.
‘I do drift out there naturally but I like to play as a striker.
‘I’m not going to make any excuses. The first season under Deila I thought I did all right. I had plenty of assists and scored 10 goals, playing mainly on the left.
‘I was happy enough but it just came down to the fact we didn’t see eye-to-eye. That is the truth of the matter and everybody knows that.
‘But I had no issue with him whatsoever. He was always very straight speaking and I respect that with people. I respect people who sit down and tell you as it is.
‘Hopefully, it will be a fresh start for me at Celtic and we can see where it takes us.
‘It’s been a difficult season for me. I didn’t play for four or five months, so it was great to finish the season on a high with Hibs. But that ship (Euro 2016) has probably sailed for me. If the call comes, though, I will be ready and I will be on that flight.’
Perhaps desperate to prove his winning mentality, stokes insists there were aspects of his fine display against Rangers that could have been better.
But he also knows from his first spell at Hibs what winning the Cup means to the people of Leith after such an agonisingly long wait for glory.
‘I could even have scored a couple of more goals but that’s just me being picky. I’m always like that,’ he said.
‘But the most important thing was that Hibs won the scottish Cup and I’m absolutely delighted for everyone involved.
‘Throughout my first spell at Hibs, all the talk was about whether this would be our year with the Cup. But winning it is a difficult thing to do. I’ve only won it twice with Celtic and that shows how big an achievement it was for us to do it with a young Hibs side against a good Rangers team.
‘Hibs have been questioned a lot this season. We’ve been unlucky in stages but when it keeps happening you’ve got to start asking yourselves questions.
‘From the minute I came in the door and saw the lads training, I said: “This Hibs side is not a Championship team”. I thought we would get promotion.
‘But to finish the season like that by winning the scottish Cup and taking a bit of hurt away from the Hibs fans is something that will go down in history.’