Celtic came away from Paisley on Sunday afternoon with a comfortable 2-0 victory. Goals from Japanese duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda were enough for The Bhoys to secure their place in the last eight of the Scottish Cup.
And in the quarter-finals of the oldest cup competition in the world, the Hoops have been drawn to face Livingston at Parkhead. Manager Brendan Rodgers couldn’t have asked for a better fixture.
His squad will relish the opportunity to get to Hampden for the first time this season, but they are rather inexperienced in the mind of the manager. This takes nothing away from their achievements and, rather, makes them more impressive.
Indeed, after Sunday’s cup triumph, Rodgers heaped praise on his players: “I am so proud of the players because this is a very young team”, he said (The Celtic Way).
“If you take Joe (Hart) and Callum out of the team then there is a lot of inexperience at a high level consistently.
“How they are reacting and staying together is very important and whilst there is a lot of noise around we just continue to win football games.”
The manager makes a rather valid point. Apart from Hart and the captain, few players have played more than a few seasons at a top level.
Despite this inherent lack of experience, they continually meet the standard, at least in terms of results. Eight wins out of a possible nine since mid-December makes for impressive reading and is title-winning form.
The Bhoys are getting their act together and each week, are continually improving. Things are finally beginning to look up at Celtic going into next Saturday’s clash at home to Kilmarnock.
