PERSISTENCE, RESILLIENCE, SUCCESS

Neil Lennon on the Hoops’ formidable cup run and digging deep for positive results at the business end of the campaign

- JOE DONNELLY

RETURNING to domestic football following a European defeat demands resilience.

So good were Celtic during this year’s UEFA Europa League group-stages that this occurred just once, after an inconsequential defeat to CFR Cluj in Romania on Matchday Six. In turn, this meant their resolve following Euro disappointment was rarely tested.

Naturally, you wouldn’t want it any other way, but the Scottish champions’ impressive continental form did add an element of unfamiliar pressure to last Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

In poor weather, Neil Lennon’s men followed the dismay of midweek defeat to FC Copenhagen with a mettle-testing trip to Perthshire. In what the manager later described as a ‘proper cup tie’, the holders triumphed 1-0 in a well-contested match on a heavy pitch, to record their 34th consecutive domestic cup victory.

In the words of Muhammad Ali – “There ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.”

“It’s remarkable,” said Neil Lennon of the cup record in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View. “It’s something the players are really proud of, and I would love them to get to 36 – because that then means we’ve won the Scottish Cup again.

“The next one is Aberdeen in the semi-final, and that’s not going to be easy. But the team are doing really well. It was a difficult game against St Johnstone on a difficult pitch in difficult conditions. I thought we could have won by more, but all told, it was comfortable, and we were in control.