TIME TO MAKE HAMPDEN HISTORY
Celtic’s quadruple Treble mission is a roller-coaster of emotions for Lennon
EXCITEMENT? Anticipation? Anxiety? Apprehension? Exactly what does go through a manager’s head on Cup Final morning? ‘All of the above,’ admits Neil Lennon. Eight times a finalist previously as a player and manager. Seven times a winner.
Yet no matter how often you’ve been course and distance, even the thoroughbreds feel it waiting to come out of the gates on the big occasions.
And for the Celtic boss this time around, maybe more so than ever before with history crooking its finger in his direction, he acknowledges the nerves will be there.
Not for himself personally, though. Not for the fact that this will be his first Treble as a manager, despite seeing two-thirds of Brendan Rodgers’ last one over the line with such aplomb. Nor for the fact he’d be the first ever to complete one as a player and boss.
More for a team who find themselves chasing legendary status in the midst of extraordinary circumstances, where other
priorities are in danger of clouding the moment in front of them, even denying them a merited celebration, muted by their stuttering quest for league title No10.
Because right now, they need a spark — and despite this being one game, seven months late, Lennon hopes it can be so much more.
‘It’s the Scottish Cup,’ said Lennon. ‘It’s been a really good competition for me, as a player, and it was my first one as a manager as well.
‘I remember waking up the day we played Hibs and my stomach was churning that morning. We put in a great performance and won that one 3-0.
‘That was the first but even the last one (the treble Treble win over Hearts in 2019), there was so much riding on it and I was absolutely thrilled that we overcame that one.
‘This one will be no different in terms of how you’re feeling and all the plays that go through your mind, all the actions. You know you can’t control it.
‘It’s not about me, though. It’s about the club and the team. If we can complete a quadruple Treble it probably wouldn’t ever be seen again.
‘And I know a lot is made of psychological feelgood factors and stuff like that, but I think it will give the players a real shot in the arm. It will give them a buzz.
‘It’s baby steps though. We’re in the thrust of December and we’ve got a lot of games.
‘This is a different competition, it’s a one-off game and you’ve got to get it right. Then you can build from there, keep the confidence going and keep the performances going.
‘Whether it is a catalyst or not, if we win and it is then so be it, but I’m not going to say that will be the complete turning point. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.’
Lennon has been playing his cards close to his chest over the past week on team selection, with hint and counter-hint leaving observers wondering whether the galvanising effect of Ismaila Soro and David Turnbull over the past two wins will trump sentiment and experience when it comes to the return of captain Scott Brown.
One player in the starting line-up without any room for doubt, however, will be the one whose presence is certain to intimidate, given his track record.
‘These occasions bring the best out in Odsonne Edouard,’ said Lennon. ‘He is a big-game player.
‘That’s a great thing to have and it speaks volumes for his character because you forget how young he is at just 22 sometimes.
‘He’s a real talismanic figure for us. If he’s on song, we have a real chance of winning the Scottish Cup. Like the majority of the players, he misses the fans in the stadium at the moment. He’s an entertainer at the end of the day.
‘But he’s in a good position mentally and physically and like the others, he’s had a good record in this competition.
‘So we’re all looking for more of the same in this final.’
Edouard’s come-from-behind double won them their last Scottish Cup final against Hearts.
But it was another matchwinner who got the ball rolling on this particular treble last December, Christopher Jullien putting Rangers to the sword in the Betfred Cup final. And Lennon is thrilled to see the French centrehalf return to something like himself after a stop-start season.
‘I thought he had a great game at Kilmarnock last Sunday,’ said the manager, ‘his best of the season.
It’s been a really good competition for me as a player and manager
People were asking me about him when (Nicke) Kabamba gave him a hard time at Rugby Park, and (Lyndon) Dykes gave him a problem too.
‘He turned that around, we beat Livingston 4-0 and then on Sunday he handled Kabamba very, very well.
‘But no one asks you about that after the game, it’s all about the negatives, but for me that was a real positive and it spoke volumes for his personality and his character.
‘I like that in him, he’s got that bite in him, he’s a big player for us. I’m hoping he makes a massive contribution again come Sunday.’
Celtic’s back-to-back victories over Lille and Killie put the brakes on an abysmal run of two wins in their previous 12 — and Lennon admits he sees a corner being turned.
‘Yeah, I think in the quality and the tempo,’ he said. ‘They trained well even in the barren period, if you want to call it that, but there was definitely a spring in their step this week.
‘Obviously there was a lot of excitement and anticipation building for the game on Sunday.
‘They’re all sort of fighting for a starting place and a place in the squad, so the quality at training has been excellent.
‘I don’t think I need to tell them what’s at stake here though, because I think the players are completely aware of the gravity of the game.’
Standing between them and history is a Hearts side whose status may be in the tier below Celtic, but whose manager and players Lennon will not be underestimating.
‘I’ve been impressed by Robbie (Neilson) for a long time, he said. ‘I thought he did a great job at Hearts the first time.
‘He had a crack at England and did reasonably well there, then he came back up and did a great job at Dundee United.
‘I probably raised an eyebrow like a lot of people when he left Dundee United to go back to Hearts, but it’s his club. He’s an excellent coach and he handles himself very well.’