UP FOR THE CUP
Winning fifth in a row would be more than silver lining for Celtic
WHILE the Scottish Cup is plainly the only thing that can now prevent Celtic from enduring a first barren season in 11 years, it would be disdainful to dismiss the honour as some kind of consolation prize.
Having already become the first side in the 146-year history of the tournament to lift the trophy four years in succession, the Parkhead side could now extend that run by another year come May 22.
No one would pretend this was the extent of the side’s ambitions at the outset of this season, but the achievement would be laudable in its own right.
Celtic did not win the league in 1985, 1989 or 1995. Yet, for different reasons, the Scottish Cup triumphs of those years are still recalled with great fondness by supporters.
The first of those, a comeback victory against Dundee United, ensured the 100th Scottish Cup would forever be synonymous with the Parkhead club.
Four years later, a one-goal triumph over Rangers, denied the Ibrox side an expected Treble.
Five seasons without a trophy later, a slender win over Airdrie signalled the end of the drought.
More recent triumphs in 2005 and 2011 may not have fully compensated for the loss of those titles yet they did edge the club towards an unprecedented mark of 40 victories.
Now that the dust from the league season is beginning to clear, the importance of extending that sequence is hard to overstate.
‘The Scottish Cup is important,’ said interim boss John Kennedy. ‘We want to give our supporters as many trophies as possible.
‘I think Sunday showed that, yes, we’ve underperformed at periods and lost the title, but we are still capable of being a dominant team that can go and win things.’
For the watching Celtic support, there were at least signs of life on Sunday.
While the display against a tired visiting team was never much better than mediocre, that in itself was an improvement on much of what’s been produced this season.
Although far from perfect, they did not look like a side who believe their work for the term is yet done.
The fact they didn’t fold when another goal was needlessly conceded suggested they are in a better place mentally than at other points in the campaign.
‘You have seen that (fragility) at times and it’s something we’ve tried to address,’ said Kennedy.
‘When you get a setback it’s how you respond to it. That can be the bigger picture like dealing with losing a cup, or whether it’s in a game like conceding a goal.
‘We saw on Sunday a team that quickly regrouped. We got hold of the ball again and took control of the game.’
It was no hard luck story, though. When a goalkeeper does his job at one end of the field and you again fail to do the basics at the other, you tend to get your just deserts.
And for as long as defenders show an aversion to heading away corners and free-kicks, progress will be slow.
‘It is something we have worked a lot on and will continue to work on,’ stressed Kennedy.
‘We will never stop until we fix it. Even when we fix it we will continue with that.
‘I don’t want the review of the game to be about Celtic conceding at another set-play.’
It was another day on which Stephen Welsh had little reason to reproach himself.
Diligently plugging away at the back, the 21-year-old central defender enjoyed his most impressive 90 minutes in a Celtic jersey.
Together with David Turnbull, his contribution this term has been a rare positive.
‘He had a quiet game on Sunday — that’s a great thing for a centre-back,’ said Kennedy.
‘Stephen is a terrific boy and he deserves his place in the team.’