LUSTIG INSPIRED BY INVINCIBLE EXPLOITS

MIKAEL LUSTIG has urged Celtic to harness the experience of sweeping the board domestically without defeat last season and use it to handle the pressure of going for an unprecedented double Treble. The Parkhead club are just one league match and two cup games from a feat never achieved before in Scottish football. But the Sweden international knows his side can cope with the rigorous demands of the business end of the season after going a whole campaign without losing domestically. The defender hopes that knowledge will help them power past Rangers at Hampden tomorrow and move another step closer to history. ‘It would be a great achievement if we win the Treble again because that is something that has never been done before,’ said Lustig. ‘But we were under pressure last year, with people wondering whether we could complete the season as Invincibles, as well as winning the first Treble for 16 years. ‘We stayed calm and we didn’t say anything — and then we did it. ‘Hopefully, we can do that again this season. ‘We want to win as many trophies as we can, of course, but if we don’t win this weekend we won’t start panicking because we still know that we are the No1 team in Scotland.’ Lustig missed the 3-2 league win at Ibrox last month due to suspension after being sent off at Aberdeen. He insists playing in a Scottish Cup semi-final with a Treble on the line will be less nerve-racking than watching from the stands. But he feels Celtic have a major psychological advantage from beating Rangers 3-2 on their own patch despite playing the last half-hour a man down after Jozo Simunovic was sent off. ‘I actually got the most nervous watching from the stand in the last game, especially as it was such a roller-coaster of a match,’ said Lustig. ‘I would much rather be out there playing. But I do think we have an advantage after winning that game with ten men. ‘Rangers would have felt they had a really good opportunity to finally win but we still managed to do it. That was probably a blow for them. ‘Most other teams would have tried to take a point that day but we are strong. Our mindset is such that we would be confident even if we lose a player. ‘Even when we don’t play well, we still believe we can find a way to win.’