The games continue to come thick and fast for Celtic, and it continues this weekend with the League Cup final at Hampden against St Mirren on Sunday. The Hoops have won the competition on 22 previous occasions, the most recent coming last season when they beat Rangers in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, while St Mirren have won success, which came in 2013 when they defeated Hearts in the final. And after back-to-back defeats against Hearts and Roma respectively, Wilfried Nancy’s side are looking to bounce back in the best possible manner with a victory at the National Stadium to secure the first silverware of the season. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s showpiece occasion, the Celtic manager said: “To be honest, it’s not difficult to prepare for the game. It’s a final, so in terms of motivation and stimulation it’s going to be easier, no doubt. “It’s going to be easier on my players to focus to stay on the task regarding what we want to do to have a good performance. So we’re going to mix everything and to put out a team with fresh players and to go and win this cup.“Obviously, the fact that we didn’t win our last two games, mentally there could be a bit of uncertainty, but, to be honest, having had a good discussion with he players, we know what we did well, we know what we need to improve, everything is clear and they are really focused on this game, so it doesn’t change to much regarding that. “The context is that I stay positive and see only the good things regarding the game and what we’re going to do. “This is not for me, it’s for the club obviously, and this is more for the players because I know where we are, I know where we want to go and I know what we need to improve, so now this is more for the players because they deserve this win regarding all the change and so on.” This will be third meeting between Celtic and St Mirren this season. On the opening day of the campaign, it took a Luke McCowan goal in the 87th minute to give the Hoops a 1-0 home win, while in the recent encounter last month in Paisley. Callum McGregor’s last-minute goal also delivered a 1-0 win for Celtic. “The final is all about emotion and it’s how you balance the emotion,” said the manager. “Play with emotion but also balance the emotion, and I think the team that is going to be able to be good at that will maximise their chance to win. “It’s going to be a tough game as we know, but we’re ready to accept this challenge and do whatever it takes to win the game.” Watch the manager’s full press conference Squad update Assessment of Roma game Looking ahead to cup final Winning for the fans Hampden test against St Mirren More on the match Training Gallery: League Cup final –
Trending Now
