Celtic will now turn their focus back to Scottish Premiership action following a dramatic weekend of events in the Scottish Cup.
The Bhoys faced an Aberdeen side determined to prove a point at Hampden, with nothing separating the two teams in normal time ane extra time after a six-goal thriller.
Nevertheless, Joe Hart made himself the hero at the national stadium, saving from Killian Phillips after missing a chance earlier on to put Celtic through to the final from the spot.
Despite some obvious frailty within our performance, Brendan Rodgers has led the reigning Scottish Premiership champions to a run of just one loss in their last 18 matches across all competitions, which is a statistic buried beneath the surface.
Some in media circles have been swift to criticise Celtic this season; however, credit should also be deposited in equal measure, as the Irishman has got a tune out of his players the last few months.
On the goalscoring front, we have scored three goals per match across our last five fixtures in all competitions, offering plenty of entertainment despite the obvious pressure attached to competing for a domestic double.
Celtic and momentum taking priority over the coming weeks
Now, we know that Celtic will face Rangers in the Scottish Cup final next month, offering both sides a chance to claim some silverware at the end of a long campaign.
Nevertheless, Rodgers and company have five post-split fixtures to take care of before even thinking about toppling their rivals at Hampden, with their efforts to win the league likely to take precedence over the coming weeks.
In his post-match thoughts last Saturday, Rodgers made it clear that his side will quickly block out the excitement of reaching a cup final and shift the dial to building momentum for the rest of the league season, which would tie in nicely ahead of our clash against Rangers on May 25th.
He explained [Cited via The Celtic Way]: “Today (last Saturday) was about getting to the final and doing that was a great boost. Aberdeen have not had a great season in the league but they have good players and they were free here, they could play.
“Semi-finals are all about getting to the final, so I’m just so happy for the players and the supporters that we’re coming back here on the 25th of May. We can look forward to seeing who we play then.
“We just have to block that out and look forward to five huge league games. We have to look to take the best possible form we can into that final.”
Celtic need to take one game at a time during the run-in
Rodgers may be towing the party line by not looking too far ahead; however, it is the correct approach, and Celtic should only be sizing up each fixture as it comes by aiming to maximise their output on the pitch.
Complacency isn’t an option at this stage in the season, which will be continually reinforced at Lennoxtown as the final stretch of the campaign livens up.
The double remains on for Celtic, and now it is up to the management staff and players to see through the task at hand.
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