A Word With The Manager

- Tony Connelly

ONCE again Celtic come into the month of November with a League Cup final on the horizon, and the prospect of more silverware is almost within touching distance.

Celtic showed once again that, when it appears the chips are down, they have the winning hand. Hearts got the better of them earlier in the season, but there’s no doubt the Hoops have since found their footing and are reminding the rest of the league why they are Double Treble winners.

It was a game of two halves at Murrayfield on Sunday and one which reflected the season so far for Celtic. The champions never fully got going in the first half of the semi-final, but in the second 45 minutes they blew Hearts out of the water with some sensational attacking football.

The 3-0 win booked Celtic’s place in the final at Hampden on December 2 where they will meet Aberdeen, who beat Rangers 1-0 in the other semi-final.

There’s plenty of football to come between then and now, but it’s worth noting that Celtic have reached their fifth successive domestic cup final under Brendan Rodgers. With the games coming thick and fast there’s not much time to reflect on the achievement, but the Irishman said the accomplishment reflected all the hard work his players and staff have put in over the past two years.

“We deserved to get to the final. It’s our fifth consecutive final and it’s a huge tribute to the mentality and focus of the players,” he said. “Everyone involved with the club works very hard to help us reach the standards we set ourselves so it’s a real team effort on everyone’s part to get to the final.