HOW DO WE BEAT THIS? DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!
Treble triumph can help us build for Europe, says Sinclair
SCOTT SINCLAIR had no sooner put the gloss on his perfect debut season at Celtic than he was vowing to do it all again.
For once, Sinclair — who completed a sweep of the individual player of the year awards by claiming the Scottish Football Writers’ award last weekend — was not centre stage as Tom Rogic claimed a dramatic stoppage-time winner in yesterday’s Scottish Cup final.
Victory over Aberdeen meant Sinclair and his team-mates became history makers with only the fourth Treble in the club’s history.
Having gone undefeated across a 38-game league season and lifted both the League and Scottish Cups, there would seem little margin for improvement for Brendan Rodgers’ team.
Sinclair, however, would love to be part of the first Celtic team to claim back-to-back Trebles. And the former Manchester City winger would also like to see the club go far in next term’s Champions League.
‘It’s been not just the perfect week, but the perfect season,’ declared 28-year-old Sinclair, his latest medal draped round his neck.
‘We’ve gone unbeaten, won the Treble and we can only build on that going into next season.
‘How do we build on that? We can only do it again. And we need to build in the Champions League, get to the group stage and progress in that competition better than we did this season.’
Sinclair’s 25 goals have gone a long way towards Celtic’s success under Rodgers and it’s been good to see a player once tipped for big things in England come north of the border and ignite his career in such spectacular fashion.
Such improvement has been Rodgers’ stock in trade since joining the club last summer.
Aside from the £3.5million he spent on Sinclair and £500,000 development fee for Moussa Dembele, Celtic’s success has largely been one borne of turning an underachieving squad into a lean and fit proposition capable of swatting aside all-comers.
Sinclair may have been the star turn and captain Scott Brown the imperious driving force, but this has been Rodgers’ success and the former Liverpool boss basked in his moment.
‘I’ve heard a new word — the Invince-trebles!’ he remarked, with trademark brio. ‘It’s a monumental achievement. It has been a pleasure to be up here, the league has been fantastic, competitive, we’ve had to be at our best, which is why I push the players in training every day.
‘We’ve come through a league campaign unbeaten and this was always going to be tough.
‘Derek (McInnes) has done a brilliant job with Aberdeen. He has made them competitive and we really had to respond. We had to show why we’re champions.’
As Rogic weaved his way towards goal, a lightning bolt appeared in the sky above the Celtic end at Hampden. ‘Someone said that to me,’ added Rodgers. ‘I’m just glad it never hit Tom before he had his shot! Maybe the stars were aligned this year.
‘I remember the centenary year for Celtic and there was a feeling about this season, too. But we’ve had to earn it and work hard.’
While Sinclair foresees another full-on assault, Rodgers knows there is a reason that so few Celtic teams in the past have secured three trophies in one season.
Jock Stein did it twice and Martin O’Neill once. As the third man in a unique club, the Northern Irishman will celebrate but he has the situation in perspective.
Asked if he felt the achievement would ever be surpassed, he said: ‘I don’t think so. What’s been great for me this year, I wanted to impose a clear identity on how we played and we’ve created that. Now we can build from that.
‘What the players have done is make history. They have bought in to how we want to work.
‘I took over a group of players who were very keen, hungry and coachable. I added one or two bits to that to change the characteristics of the team to make it dynamic, fast, creative and unpredictable.
‘There’s still a lot to achieve. We’ll sit down as a group again and work out what we want to do next year. But we need a rest now. I need a rest — I’m tired!
‘I need to go away and refresh. We want to develop in European football. This season was for learning about that. We might lose some games but we can improve. We might not win everything next season but we can progress. That is the key.’
While Rodgers is already thinking ahead, full-back Mikael Lustig, one of the veterans in the team, joked that he was ready to retire after pulling off the most spectacular medal haul of his career.
The Swedish internationalist admitted there had been a collective — and uncharacteristic — bout of nerves among Rodgers’ players before the final.
By the time Rogic’s shot hit the net, tension had turned to elation.
‘What a season it’s been and what a team,’ said Lustig. ‘It’s unbelievable. When Tom’s goal went in, it’s as good a feeling as I’ve had. All the boys were nervous today because we knew we had a chance to write
history. To go through a season unbeaten and lift three trophies — I don’t know if we’ll see that again. We can retire now!
‘But, no, we still have a lot to learn. We still want to get better and improve in Europe.’
Lustig, signed by Neil Lennon from Rosenborg five seasons ago, has enjoyed big moments at Celtic, not least a Champions League victory over Barcelona in 2012.
That game coincided with the club’s 125th anniversary and now the Swede is part of a team that will go down in folklore for a more substantial achievement.
He added: ‘If you look back at the teams to do a Treble, there were some great players. It’s unbelievable for us. To be part of making history at this massive club is really good.’