Ryan Christie has stated that the Celtic players were left “buzzing” with the news that the Scottish Cup will go ahead.
The nation’s biggest cup competition had been put on hold since January after the suspension of the lower leagues in Scotland. However, with that now largely lifted, the competition will kick off once again. Celtic will find out who they will play in the third round in a fortnight when Falkirk take on Arbroath.
The Scottish Cup is the only major domestic honour Celtic now hold. However, it’s fair to say the appetite for the competition from supporters has lessened given the pitiful loss of the 10.
Even so, the Celtic players appear to be looking forward to it as Christie confirmed their desire to keep a hold of the trophy and get one over on Rangers next weekend.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Christie said: “It’s our trophy to defend and all the boys are desperate to do that.
“The boys were buzzing when they saw the news that it’s going to be played out this season. It’s a great opportunity for us to end the season on a high.
“(On Rangers) There is never a Glasgow derby when you don’t have a point to prove. We will be up for it because we are desperate to get a result against them this season. That’s what we will be looking to do and that can spur us on until the end of the season.”
Christie and the Celtic players won’t see their enthusiasm matched by supporters
It’s ridiculously tough at the moment to get excited about anything. We have so many changes coming to the club this summer. But with so much rawness attached to the campaign, excitement levels are minimal or perhaps even non-existent.
Nothing Christie says is a lie of course. Of course, there’s always a point to prove in derby matches for example. Especially this season. Especially in a campaign in which everything has gone Rangers’ way and we’ve failed to show the best side of ourselves. We’ll see how “desperate” they are to get a result when the game actually comes around.
As for the Scottish Cup, it’s more important than many of us will give it credit for just now. We can’t bring ourselves to see it as anything other than an inconvenience.
Cup success will go down well eventually
But come the cup matches, we’ll all be invested. Of course we will. After all, we still have a chance to end the season on a bit of a positive note. We have a chance to potentially beat Rangers three times between now and the end of the season. That sounds premature at the moment considering our current situation. But the opportunity is available to us if we can seize it.
The concession of the 10 won’t be forgotten if that happens. But the truth is, several wins over Rangers will do a lot for confidence, or indeed two wins and a cup success. It will flip the narrative ahead of the summer and bring some positivity back to the club.
It looks like a big ask at the moment, but it’s at the very least something to aim for. Rather than that sit in a state of resignation between now and the summer.
In other news, we take a look at three main reasons as to why next weekend’s Glasgow derby remains so important to Celtic.
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