Having enjoyed Trophy Day at Paradise last weekend, Brendan Rodgers and his squad quickly turned their attention to the next challenge on the horizon – this Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen at Hampden. The showpiece occasion at the National Stadium presents Celtic with the opportunity of securing another domestic Treble – the ninth in the club’s history – having already captured the Premiership and the League Cup. And success against Aberdeen would also make Brendan Rodgers the first Celtic manager to win three trebles. Speaking exclusively to Celtic TV this week, the Irishman explained that the squad have been preparing well and are looking forward to the final. “The feeling’s really good,” he said. “It’s where we want to be – in a final on the final day of the season – and these games, in terms of the build-up, are different for the players, coaches, everyone. “You’ve got families coming in and all the requests for tickets, and everything else that goes with a final. ‘But what never changes is that it’s a football game and to win is about performing well and playing well, and that’s what we’ve been thinking about and preparing for.’ “It’s been a really good season for us in terms of availability of players. The guys have done great, in terms of the coaching team, in terms of the sessions, the players look after themselves so well, our medical and sports science team have prepped the players off the pitch really well, so it’s allowed us to not have so many muscular injuries. “It’s just been based purely around some knocks and fractures and whatever else, but in the main, everyone is fit and strong and ready.”Brendan Rodgers has an impeccable record at Hampden, having won all seven of the finals he’s been involved in with Celtic – four League Cups and three Scottish Cups. The most recent of those Scottish Cup successes came last season, when the Hoops beat Rangers 1-0 in a dramatic final, while his other two Scottish Cup triumphs came in 2017 and ’18 against Aberdeen and Motherwell respectively, to secure the Invincible and Double Trebles. “It’s what and why we do it – to create the memory – and that first Aberdeen final was historic,” the Celtic manager explained. “It was such an amazing finish to the game. “The Motherwell one after that, we played really well in the game on what was a roasting hot day and we did the double treble, which was an incredible achievement. “And then last year, playing against Rangers, to come out on the back of that winning 1-0 was a special feeling and it ended up a great end to the season for us. ‘So the games are all special in their own way and that’s what you want to be able to do, to create the memories.’ “I think we’re in a better place in terms of another year working together. The performance level has much improved and we’ve been much more consistent, and I believe we go into this game in a much better way. “The game last year wasn’t a great game, if I’m honest, but sometimes those Celtic-Rangers games are like that, and what is important is that your name’s on the trophy at the end of it and thankfully that’s how it was. “So for this final, it’ll be the same idea – really concentrated and then look to go and enjoy and play our football. “What we look to do is obviously continue to build on these records that we create as a club, but what we cannot forget is what goes into that. “I think people just shrug their shoulders now and assume that that’s what is maybe going to happen, but the work, the professionalism, the preparation, the effort – everything that goes into doing that – it’s an incredible achievement. “But initially, we want to finish this season strong and add to the context which has really been created around all the trebles.”Upcoming Fixtures
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