Scottish League Cup / Celtic v Dunfermline: Gordon Strachan insists any sense of personal achievement will be put to one side tomorrow, should he win his first trophy as Celtic's manager courtesy of a Scottish League Cup final victory over Dunfermline.
It would be wholly understandable if Strachan, who endured a troublesome start to his Parkhead career, indulged in wild celebration should Celtic win at Hampden Park. However, he insists the happiness of his players matters most.
"We have a new group of players," Strachan explained. "And a mixture of guys who have won trophies in the past and want to find out if they can still win trophies, and those who have never won trophies before. On top of that, we all want to know if we can win trophies together. We're feeling good about ourselves, and we feel we can win the cup."
One of those players, Stephen McManus, has been a regular at the heart of Celtic's defence this season and admits no Old Firm team will receive plaudits without lifting silverware.
"I think the fans now see this as Gordon Strachan's side," said McManus. "And, like when any new manager comes in, it's the start of a new team, a new era. When you are at Celtic or Rangers, you are judged on the amount of things that you win. At the end of the season, people remember teams who won trophies."
McManus claims his team-mates would settle for a one-goal win despite beating Dunfermline them 8-1 last time out. The 23-year-old has ruled out any chance of another goal spree from the champions-elect.
Celtic destroyed Jim Leishman's "hurting" players at East End Park on February 18th but the Scotland hopeful expects a much tighter affair between the sides tomorrow.
He said: "It's going to be a very hard game and Dunfermline will be hurting from the last time.
"They will be coming here to Glasgow to win but hopefully we'll go out there and win again but it won't be possible to score eight against them again.
"We did well in that game and Dunfermline didn't play as well as they would have liked. We did very well and everyone played extremely well but everyone here would settle for 1-0 this time."
Scoring seven goals would be a fitting tribute to Lisbon Lion Jimmy Johnstone, whose funeral took place in Glasgow yesterday, in the week of his death. Thousands of fans joined former players to say their final farewell to the Celtic and Scotland.
Neil Lennon will captain Celtic in a final for the first time, despite requiring stitches in a hand injury sustained at home in midweek.
Hampden Park, Sunday, 3.0
On TV: Setanta Sports
