Clement now knows his place, his tactics to spoil the final almost paid off

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The Celtic Star

·26 May 2024

Clement now knows his place, his tactics to spoil the final almost paid off

Yesterday at Hampden Park Celtic did what Celtic does, they found a way to win yet again. Over the past decade or more this club we all love so much has delivered trophy after trophy, as one of the most successful spells in its history continues unabated.

No matter who the manager is, no matter the make up of our squad and no matter the challenges our own board put in front of us each season with their miserly financial support, we have an ingrained mentality around the club that just breeds success.

Heading into yesterday’s final I had high hopes that we were ready to hand out a thrashing to our rivals from across the city. We have threatened to give them a hammering on a few occasions this season yet we have been unable to find that full 90 minute performance against them. We have dominated most of the games, and it personally became a bit of an annoyance to me that we hadn’t handed them the thumping they deserve on those occasions. I thought yesterday could have been different but the game played out in a manner I doubt many of us saw coming.

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As a spectacle the game wasn’t the most exciting. That’s an understatement. It was as poor a Glasgow Derby as I have seen in a long while. There weren’t many chances at either end and I pity the person handed the task of creating a highlight reel after that one.

Philippe Clement brought his side to Hampden knowing they weren’t capable of going toe to toe with this Celtic team. He brought them into the final to play the role of spoilers, to disrupt the flow of the game and turn it into an ugly affair that would give his team of jobbers a chance at glory. To be fair to the Belgian Waffle his tactics were spot on. We would have picked them apart with ease if they had gone toe to toe with us. This was the only chance they had.

The game was more reminiscent of a game against the likes of Ross County, a team who lacked skill but would get in around our players and affect their flow. The starting line up with the likes of Raskin and Diomande starting in midfield let us know what they were planning. Inside the opening 20 minutes you knew this game wasn’t going to be one for the ages. With little action at either end the game became more a test of wills. I’m sure at half time Clement was telling his players the game was there for the taken. In the end however it was the same old story.

With the 90 minutes almost up and our opponents surely dreaming about winning in extra time or on penalties, Celtic showed once again that ruthless winning mentality that the bottles jobs they were playing against can only dream of. Out of nowhere Paulo Bernardo finally finds that bit of space our midfielders had been looking for all day and unleashed a swerving strike towards goal. Ibrox hero and player of the year Jack Butland spilled it and Adam Idah was there to pounce and bring the Scottish Cup back to Parkhead.

It must absolutely kill theRangers fans watching these matches. Most days we are completely embarrassing them. Others even when we aren’t at our best we still manage to find a way to win. Defeats like yesterday must hurt even more than the games where we dominate. It’s the hope that kills them. They still refuse to look inwards however, it’s easier to blame everyone else. Those pesky Celtic loving officials are to blame for this one. They honestly believe that the referees are on Celtic’s side. Freud would have a field day trying to work their fanbase out. Their insanity knows no bounds.

I hope as Celtic fans we can appreciate how lucky we are. We have a team who may at times disappoint but when it matters most they almost always produce the goods. We must be thankful that we are a club run the correct way. We don’t cheat and we don’t take shortcuts, our manager, his staff and our players put the hard yards in and deliver time and time again.

When you see the contrasting mentality compared to our city rivals it really is night and day. We don’t need to run around plastering ludicrous statements like The World’s Most Successful Club across our stadium. We don’t need to constantly tell everyone that We Are The People. We just prove what we are time and time again where it matters. Out on the pitch.

Well done to all involved with Celtic this season and thanks from us all for delivering a cup double. Unlike the peepul across the city we will never take our success for granted, but we sure as hell will enjoy it while it lasts.