The simple advice Shaun Maloney gave Celtic players right before the Ibrox penalty shoot-out vs Rangers

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Celtic’s Scottish Cup win over Rangers will be spoken about for, probably, the rest of the season as Shaun Maloney relives the penalty shoot-out.

Currently in Nyon completing his UEFA coaching licence, Maloney was reflecting on the big Ibrox win and how he inspired his Celtic side to keep their nerve in the Ibrox spot kick lottery.

And while the Celtic assistant boss admits he didn’t give any ‘Churchillian’ speeches, Maloney does share how he helped calm the nerves of the Hoops players inside the Ibrox cauldron.

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Celtic penalty instructions vs Rangers not ‘anything too deep’

Maloney appears to be the man who gives most of the touchline speeches to the Celtic team, so what did he say to ensure his players kept a cool head?

Maloney told The Herald, “It wasn’t anything too deep, really. We had practised these situations before. We did it before the previous cup game against Dundee. It wasn’t anything complex, it wasn’t anything too motivating, it wasn’t anything Churchillian.

“The players work really hard and the staff work hard with the players. I just told them to trust the technique that they have and to have belief in their own ability. That is exactly what they did.

“It was a really intense game. The atmosphere was unbelievably intense. Obviously, what happened afterwards was really difficult. But on the pitch post-90 minutes and post-120 minutes was really, really intense.

“As a group of staff, we wanted to take the players out of that atmosphere for even the briefest of moments and drive home to them the need to trust what they had when it came to the penalties. The penalties they took were brilliant.”

Maloney credits Celtic players for big Rangers win

While Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Martin O’Neill have been rightly receiving plaudits for saving Celtic’s season, the former Hoops winger is taking no credit for the Ibrox win.

Maloney added, “In these moments, there is very little a coach can say that will be that relevant when they step up. The one good thing about being an ex-player in these moments is that you understand the feeling of being involved a penalty shoot-out. It is impossible to replicate it until you are there.

“I have never been involved in one at Ibrox. That adds an even bigger layer to it. Full credit to the players because making that walk would have been a really difficult moment for them. There was not too much, if anything at all, we could do to prepare them for that.”