ANGE Postecoglou has admitted that Celtic are driven on by their Scottish Cup defeat to The Rangers last year.
The Hoops will face their rivals at Hampden a year after losing to them in extra time in the same competition at the same stage.
Postecoglou believes that the defeat was a valuable learning experience for the team and that it can act as a source of inspiration to ensure that it doesn‘t happen again.
He also stated that each match should be treated on its own merit, rather than looking at what‘s gone before. Celtic will be looking to make sure that they don‘t suffer the same fate as last year and will be hoping to secure a spot in the final of the Scottish Cup.
Ange Postecoglou told CeltsAreHere.com:
“You never put those ones to bed unfortunately, it would be nice to think that‘s how it works. I think most players and managers would tell you that the ones where you aren‘t successful tend to be the ones that stick in the memory longer than the ones where you are successful.
“The fact was on the day I still thought we performed well. It was a tight game and we lost in extra–time. Where we were at that point in time, we bonded together as a group and you need to go through these experiences, good and bad, for growth.
“We used that as a growing experiences for ourselves to say ‘well okay, we weren‘t successful on the day. Not for the want of trying‘. We faced a really good opponent. Rangers were on the way to a European final so it was a really strong team. “We lost in extra–time so we use that as an opportunity to develop and learn but also as a source of inspiration to try and make sure it doesn‘t happen again.
“I just treat these things as separate entities. If you fall into the trap of thinking there‘s some sort of advantage you have because of previous results, that‘s where you can maybe lose clarity.
“Every game is different, particularly when you talk about cup games and semi–finals. You know what‘s at stake that day and a spot in the final is the reward.
“I just don‘t think previous form, whether that was last week or in previous games, comes into it. You don‘t want to come into these games not having won for a while for sure.
“But I think from our perspective we‘ve been in form for some time and we just want to continue that.”
The Rangers are needing to stop Celtic from another derby victory and another boost in their hunt for a treble, with a Championship or League 1 opposition playing in the final.
