Scottish Gas has filled the void for Scottish Cup sponsorship in a deal understood to be worth about £5million a year.

A five-year contract has been agreed with the Scottish Football Association which will see the energy firm become the title sponsor of both the men’s and women’s competitions. The deal will also provide a major boost to grassroots football projects.

The deal was announced just before the SFA annual general meeting, which saw Alloa owner Mike Mulraney confirmed as president following the end of Rod Petrie’s four-year term. Hamilton’s Les Gray replaces Mulraney as vice-president.

Scottish Gas will become the first title sponsor of the Scottish Cup since William Hill’s nine-year partnership ended in 2020.

The men’s competition will be known as the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup from next season, its 150th anniversary, and the funding will also benefit the Scottish Gas Women’s Scottish Cup, the final of which was staged at Hampden this year for the first time.

The deal will help fund 120 new week-long holiday camps which will provide 6,000 opportunities for children to play football and receive free lunches.

The investment will also help Scottish Para-Football’s disability community initiatives by working with six clubs each year to set up the required infrastructure and playing conditions.

Scottish Gas will also work with the SFA to explore ways of making Hampden more sustainable and design a programme for clubs to help “reduce their carbon footprint and create more sustainable communities”.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Scottish Gas on board as a committed multi-level partner and supporter of the Power of Football.

“As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, they will help us activate the oldest and youngest cup trophies in world football, bringing new and existing fans on that famous road to Hampden.

“Through this agreement, Scottish Gas will also help reinforce the impact our national game has at grassroots level, especially among those whose need is greatest. We look forward to bringing the partnership to life and highlighting the ways in which, together, we can inspire the nation and transform lives.”

Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, the owner of Scottish Gas said: “We’re delighted to be investing in our customers’ communities and I’m particularly excited about the work we will be doing to support holiday camps, Para-Football and the women’s game across Scotland.”

Mulraney welcomed the deal and promised “100 per cent commitment and focus” on his new role.

“The Scottish FA is committed to inspiring the nation and transforming lives,” the Alloa chairman added.

“We made an impassioned plea at Holyrood only last week urging government and politicians to see us as allies in improving the health and wellbeing of the country and that is something I am determined to facilitate in a practical sense.

“The national association is primarily responsible for the development of the game, the grassroots and it is imperative we work with governments both national and local, philanthropists, commercial and charitable partners, to improve the fundamental infrastructure of our game – facilities.

“We have already agreed a £20m fund with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and need more investment.

“We need to retain and upgrade the pitches we currently have, attain new funding for new facilities, especially to meet the growth of girls’ and women’s football, and ensure we contribute to sustainable clubs and communities, both from a financial and an environmental perspective.

“This will be a key priority for me as president and I look forward to working with partners to improve our infrastructure.”

Scottish Gas has been announced as the title sponsor of both the men’s and women’s Scottish Cup.

A five-year contract has been agreed with the Scottish Football Association which will benefit grassroots football.

The men’s competition will be known as the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup from next season, its 150th anniversary, and the funding will also benefit the Scottish Gas Women’s Scottish Cup, the final of which was staged at Hampden this year for the first time.

The deal will help fund 120 new week-long holiday camps which will provide  6,000 opportunities for children to play football and receive free lunches.

The investment will also help Scottish Para-Football’s disability community initiatives by working with six clubs each year to set up the required infrastructure and playing conditions.

Scottish Gas will also work with the SFA to explore ways of making Hampden more sustainable and design a programme for clubs to help “reduce their carbon footprint and create more sustainable communities”.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Scottish Gas on board as a committed multi-level partner and supporter of the Power of Football.

“As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, they will help us activate the oldest and youngest cup trophies in world football, bringing new and existing fans on that famous road to Hampden.

“Through this agreement, Scottish Gas will also help reinforce the impact our national game has at grassroots level, especially among those whose need is greatest. We look forward to bringing the partnership to life and highlighting the ways in which, together, we can inspire the nation and transform lives.”

Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, the owner of Scottish Gas said: “Our partnership with the Scottish FA is the perfect match of energy and passion for Scottish Gas as we team up to support the nation.

“We’re delighted to be investing in our customers’ communities, and I’m particularly excited about the work we will be doing to support holiday camps, Para-Football and the women’s game across Scotland.”

Roddy MacGregor believes Inverness’ performance in the 3-1 Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic can boost their promotion confidence for next season.

The Championship side had beaten cinch Premiership outfits Livingston and Kilmarnock on their way to Saturday’s Hampden Park showpiece but had finished sixth in the league.

Celtic proved too tough an opponent as goals from attackers Kyogo Furuhashi, substitute Liel Abada and Jota completed the domestic treble with Caley Thistle replacement Dan MacKay’s header a consolation.

However, MacGregor – a late second-half substitute for Scott Allardice – insists positives can be taken from the performance going into next season.

The 21-year-old midfielder said: “We went toe-to-toe with the best team in the country at the moment and in previous rounds we had beaten Premiership teams.

“It just shows that when we are on our game we can give any team a game and that definitely gives us confidence going into next season.

“We were disappointed obviously, it is never nice to lose in such a big game. It is not a nice feeling.

“Up against a team like Celtic it is always going to be tricky but I think we did reasonably well and limited their chances.

“We genuinely thought we could win the game and that’s the sign of a good dressing room and we are looking to go again next season and hopefully we have a fully-fit squad.”

MacKay, on loan from Hibernian, was pleased that Inverness proved the doom-mongers wrong with their spirited performance.

The 22-year-old winger said: “The boys can be proud of themselves. We put up a really good battle.

“Everyone doubted us and said it would be six or seven nil but we proved them wrong and showed that a Championship team that was midtable was more than a match at times for Celtic but they were clinical at the end of the day.

“If you get a goal you never know what can happen in these games. Pressure happens and chances come and go in games.

“We took our chance but unfortunately we never got another chance and Celtic were clinical.

“But we need to be proud, it was an achievement getting there.”

Asked about his future with Hibs, he said: “I don’t know yet. I wait to see what happens.”

Carl Starfelt believes he has taken “very big steps” under the tutelage of Ange Postecoglou as speculation about the Celtic boss’ future continues apace.

The backdrop to the Hoops’ 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Championship side Inverness at Hampden Park on Saturday was the link between the former Australia manager and Tottenham.

Goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and Jota rendered Dan MacKay’s header a consolation as the Parkhead club completed their eighth domestic treble – a world record.

Fans hero Postecoglou arrived at Parkhead in June 2021 and brought in the Sweden centre-back from Rubin Kazan the following month and Starfelt – who insisted that he had no knowledge of what his boss intended to do – has enjoyed his development as a player in that period.

He said: “Obviously, he brought me here. I was one of the first signings he made and he has given me a lot of trust.

“He has been really good for me and my development, also the way he wants centre-backs to play is really developing.

“I feel that I have been taking very big steps and also he demands the very best from every player which makes us better.

“So, obviously he has been really good for me and a lot of the players.”

Starfelt acknowledged the widespread influence of Postecoglou at Celtic, where he arrived after the league title had decanted to Rangers, wresting it back to the east end of Glasgow at the first attempt.

He said: “It is really important for the club – everyone can see that.

“He came in when it was a really tough period and has done this rebuild. He is just a really good manager and everyone knows he is really important for the club but we will have to wait and see what happens, I don’t know.

“After the game he said that he was really proud of everyone.

“He knows how hard we have been working all season, not only in the games, coming into training every day with 100 per cent focus, which is what is needed to achieve this kind of thing as it is not easy. It took a lot to get us to this place.

“We have been working really hard all season. I am really happy, delighted, happy and proud of the boys and the staff.

“We worked so hard and the treble is not an easy thing to achieve so I’m really happy.”

Inverness manager Billy Dodds was proud of his players after their Hampden efforts against treble-winning Celtic.

Caley Thistle restricted the champions to few chances before Kyogo Furuhashi swept home a 38th-minute winner in the Scottish Cup final.

Half-time sub Liel Abada doubled Celtic’s lead but Inverness fought back through Dan MacKay before Jota sealed a 3-1 win in stoppage-time.

“Everything a losing manager feels, you are disappointed, but proud at the same time.

“There’ s a massive gulf between the teams but I thought we asked them questions at certain times, I really did.

“We lost goals at bad times, because i was trying to get to half-time, had a plan in my head, then we lost a goal when I was going to make an attacking substitution.

“I love working with this group and after being idle for five weeks or so, I thought they put on a hell of a performance.

“I am absolutely thrilled by the way they dug in and what they gave me in terms of effort and determination.”

Dodds added: “Every manager talks about character and all that we have and we certainly did to come back into the game.

“Wallace Duffy whips in a great ball and it’s a brilliant finish from Dan MacKay.”

Skipper Callum McGregor believes Ange Postecoglou will leave Celtic on the highest of highs if Tottenham’s reported interest in the Hoops boss comes to fruition.

The Parkhead club clinched an eighth domestic treble – a world record – with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at  Hampden Park.

Afterwards, Postecoglou refused to commit himself to Celtic for next season and McGregor was asked about the former Australia manager’s accomplishment of the clean sweep in Scotland which brings another entry into the Champions League next season, amid strong speculation about his future.

McGregor, who has now won the treble five times with the Parkhead club, said: “That’s what he always wants to speak about, how well he can build the group, how successful you can be, how together you can be.”

The Hoops captain, who said his personal haul of medals “is something I am proud of, you want to be a winner” added: “We hope he stays and we hope to see him in pre-season.

“In football you never know but if that is a parting gift then what a way to go.

“Of course (we hope he stays). You deliver that much success at the club in such a short space of time.

“You turn things around, you look at the togetherness of the group, it is fantastic and that starts from him.

“That is the message he sets every day so of course we understand he will be linked with big jobs which he has been but selfishly, as players and as a club, we want to keep him as long as we can.”

Asked if he was braced for Postecoglou’s departure, McGregor said: “We don’t know.

“In football there is always speculation, there is always people being linked and that is a good thing.

“It shows you are doing a good job, it shows the players have done a good job for him and he has done a great job for the club so it is always nice to have that compliment and in football you just never know.

“We celebrate tonight, we have had a brilliant season and we will see what happens.

“In football you deal with whatever comes your way, you have to be flexible, you have to work around these things and as I said selfishly we want to keep him. Hopefully we have him for pre-season.”

Ange Postecoglou vowed to enjoy Celtic’s record-breaking treble for as long as he could before someone “drags” him away to focus on other issues as he continued to dodge questions over his future.

Postecoglou is odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham and refused to give any indication on whether he would be departing Celtic Park after making it five trophies in two seasons with a 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Inverness.

Many Celtic fans fear their manager is London-bound and he would not give any assurances to the contrary.

“I will say to them what I said to the players, let’s enjoy this,” he said. “I deserve to enjoy this, the people around me deserve to enjoy this.

“Whatever other people want to focus on and talk about, I am not going to miss enjoying this moment with this group of people but also I owe it to my family, my friends, all of those closest to me.

“Everyone works hard and makes sacrifices to enjoy these moments. I understand that other people who aren’t invested in it want to ask these questions but for me, right now, the most important thing is that we reflect and just be in the moment of creating something special.”

When it was pointed out that fans who are heavily-invested in Celtic are among those asking the questions, the 57-year-old said: “Yeah, but they deserve to enjoy this moment because, irrespective of what happens in the future, why would you not want to enjoy this moment just for what it is? It’s something historic.”

When asked if he anticipated being in Glasgow next season, the former Australia head coach said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.

“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.

“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”

Celtic clinched the domestic treble with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park.

The showpiece occasion was played against the backdrop of mounting speculation around Tottenham’s interest in Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou, who again had Kyogo Furuhashi to thank for his contribution.

The Japan striker struck for the 34th times this season in the 38th minute of an otherwise nondescript first half to undo the good early work of Billy Dodds’ rank outsiders.

The Championship outfit, who had not played a competitive game for a month, fell further behind when Hoops’ half-time substitute Liel Abada slid in a second in the 65th minute.

Caley substitute Dan MacKay pulled a goal back with five minutes remaining, only for Portuguese winger Jota to restore Celtic’s two-goal advantage as the game slipped into six minutes of added time.

It is the eighth time Celtic had completed the clean sweep of League, League Cup and Scottish Cup – a world record – and now eyes turn to see what the future holds for Postecoglou, who is the fifth Parkhead manager to win the treble.

James Vincent admits he has only recently started to grasp the full magnitude of his Scottish Cup-winning strike for Inverness eight years ago.

The 33-year-old midfielder scored the biggest goal in Caley Thistle’s history when he burst forward from his auxiliary role at right-back to tap home in the 86th minute as his 10-man team overcame a late flurry from Falkirk to claim the old trophy in 2015.

But Vincent, who returned for a second spell with Inverness between 2019 and 2021, admits it took him some time to fully appreciate the importance of what he had accomplished.

“It really is the sort of thing you grow up dreaming of, scoring a late winner in a cup final,” Vincent told the PA news agency on the eve of his old side’s Scottish Cup final showdown with Celtic.

“It’s probably something that has become heightened over the years, partly by doing interviews like this. At the time I thought it was just another game to be brutally honest.

“I didn’t quite understand how it affected the lives of fans and staff. It’s only when you’re still getting messages from fans about the cup final all these years later that you understand how it impacted other people and that it was the biggest moment for the club they support.

“It’s probably something that I’ve come to realise over the years was such a big occasion and I’m so happy that I was part of it.”

Vincent was sent on by manager John Hughes as a 72nd-minute substitute to try and help Inverness – who were in the Premiership at the time – maintain control at a time when they led their second-tier opponents 1-0.

A red card for Caley Thistle defender Carl Tremarco just three minutes later, however, changed the whole dynamic of the match and Falkirk equalised with 10 minutes left.

Just as the Bairns looked set to turn the screw, the Highlanders broke away and won it when Vincent followed up to tap in the rebound after attacker Marley Watkins had surged from his own half and forced a save out of Jamie MacDonald.

“Circumstances on the day were crazy,” recalled Vincent. “We had ups and downs, a red card, people playing out of position, but I just took a bit of a risk towards the end and fortunately it paid off.

“When I came on, it was still 11 v 11 but Falkirk were getting a bit of a foothold. I went on for Ryan Christie to play in an advanced midfielder position but within three minutes we were down to 10 men and I got moved to right-back.

“John Hughes liked utilising us in different positions, which I felt was a strength of ours. The remit from there was to shut up shop, get to extra time and see if we could take it to penalties but I had the chance to break forward and I took it.

“A lot of the boys had played the majority of the game and were tired, especially when we were down to 10 men, but I had a bit of freshness about me and I was on the pitch so I just thought ‘I’ll have a go’. You don’t get to play in many occasions like that and I just took a gamble and kept going.

“I got myself ahead of the midfield line and it was only Marley up top and he managed to brush off a defender and get a shot away. I still think he should have passed to me but he had a shot and I was in the right place at the right time.

“Even though Falkirk were in the Championship, they had a really good squad and had been on the cusp of promotion for a couple of years. We were the favourites going into it but the tide turned when we had Carl sent off and we probably became the underdogs.

“It was tough, it was backs-against-the-wall at times, but we had a great attitude about us. I don’t think anybody expected us to finish the game the way we did.”

Vincent will be watching his former colleagues from his Glossop home on Saturday, hoping he will be joined in Inverness folklore by a new cup final-winning hero.

“It’s really nice to see Aaron Doran and Danny Devine trying to do it again,” he said of the two remaining members of the 2015 squad. “They’re the two boys, along with Billy McKay who I’m still really close to and still talk to quite regularly.

“Those lads will be really valuable to Inverness because they’ve got the experience. I think they’ve got a nice blend of younger and more experienced player.

“I’ll be watching on television as a fan and I’d love to see them have a go at Celtic and see where it takes them. If they do that and give it their all, nobody will moan regardless of the score.”

Danny Devine admits he has allowed himself to dream about the prospect of becoming a two-time Scottish Cup winner with Inverness.

The 30-year-old defender is one of only two members of the current squad who played a part when Caley Thistle enjoyed the greatest day in their history by defeating Falkirk in the 2015 final.

Aaron Doran was the other player who featured in John Hughes’ triumphant team eight years ago, and now the pair are desperate to experience similar glory this weekend by helping the cinch Championship side stun treble-chasing Celtic in Saturday’s showdown at Hampden.

“What we did in 2015 was massive, especially for the city of Inverness, being up in the Highlands and everything else that brings with it,” Devine told the PA news agency.

“I look back on that day with fond memories. It was historic for the club and there’s no reason why this club can’t push on forward and have more days like that, like we’re going to have tomorrow.

“There’s only two of us left from that cup-winning side. We have the experience of doing it before, which will hopefully help us individually and help the team.

“It was obviously the best point of my career and to go and do it again would be absolutely huge, especially with the opponent we face. It’s going to be extremely tough but with a little bit of luck, you never know.”

Asked if he had allowed himself to ponder life as a two-time Scottish Cup winner, Northern Irishman Devine said: “Of course, yes. You always try and visualise what it would be like if we could go there and pull off a huge upset, then you quickly bring yourself back down to earth by recognising the actual size of the task at hand.

“But of course I’ve thought about it. When the game time comes that will be completely out of my head and I’ll just be focused on the game itself and doing my job.”

Devine hopes the cup-winning experience he and Doran possess can help Billy Dodds’ young squad handle the occasion this time round.

“There’s nothing like experience,” he said. “I think having played in these big games in the past definitely helps, in the lead-up to it and managing the nerves and stuff like that.

“We’ve got quite a young squad here with a few local boys and it’s good for them to pick our brains and find out little bits and bobs of what it’s like on the day. It’s good for us to be there if we can help them in any way.”

Inverness, who were in the top flight at the time, had to conquer Ronny Deila’s Celtic side in the semi-final on their run to glory in 2015.

Devine was sidelined by injury that day and watched from the stand as his colleagues took advantage of a red card for Hoops goalkeeper Craig Gordon to win 3-2 after extra-time. He believes memories of that occasion can give the current side hope as they bid to stop Ange Postecoglou’s formidable side.
“I know this Celtic team is firing on all cylinders but they had some pretty good players back then as well,” said Devine. “Virgil Van Dijk scored a free-kick that day and they were an extremely good side.

“They were no mugs back then so that definitely gives us confidence. I know it’s a bit different this time because we’re in the division below but the belief is there within this squad, we’re a tight-knit group and we’ll be giving it our best shot.

“We’ve played about eight semi-finals and finals in our short history and this is our second Scottish Cup final in eight years, which is absolutely huge for a club of this size, and I think that comes from that underdog spirit and everybody being together up here in the Highlands.”

Celtic face Inverness in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday in a match with numerous discussion points around the game.

The Hoops are aiming for a 41st triumph in the competition while Caley Thistle bid to make it two wins from two final appearances.

Here are some of the key issues ahead of the Hampden encounter.

The last dance?

“We have done this dance a few times this year,” said Ange Postecoglou after being quizzed over reports that Tottenham had made him their top candidate for their managerial vacancy. The Celtic manager has been linked with numerous Premier League jobs this season – Leeds, Everton, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Leicester and Chelsea to name a few – and he pointed out there had been another favourite for the Spurs job last week. The Australian stressed that nothing would distract him from preparing for Saturday’s game but Celtic fans approach the final with anxious thoughts over the future.

Treble chance

Postecoglou is looking to emulate Jock Stein, Martin O’Neill, Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon in securing a clean sweep of domestic honours in the one season in what has been classed as a world-record eighth treble. Postecoglou is determined to write that chapter of the club’s history and make it a fifth treble in seven seasons to underline Celtic’s dominance in Scotland.

Will lightning strike again?

Celtic must overcame opponents who have caused them all sorts of problems in the Scottish Cup, since their first meeting in 2000 when First Division Caley Thistle won 3-1 at Parkhead in their sixth season in the league, costing John Barnes his job as Hoops manager. John Robertson’s then top-flight side repeated the feat three years later, three days after Celtic had won at Anfield on their way to the UEFA Cup final. A hat-trick of shocks was completed in the 2015 semi-finals as Ronny Deila’s side saw their treble hopes collapse in a controversial 3-2 defeat. John Hughes’ team went on to lift the trophy. Celtic have won four of the seven Scottish Cup meetings but have twice needed to come from behind.

Rested or rusty?

Caley Thistle finished sixth in the Championship, with a late winner from Ayr’s Josh Mullin ending their play-off hopes in the final minutes of the season. Billy Dodds’ side have not played a competitive fixture since that May 5 game, a friendly against Dean Shiels’ Dungannon Swifts side the only time they have appeared.

Kyogo or no go?

Celtic top goalscorer Kyogo Furuhashi is a fitness doubt after coming off worse in a 50-50 with Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos last weekend. The Japan forward, who has 33 goals this season, did not train until Friday but history would suggest he will declare himself fit. The 28-year-old scored a match-winning double against Hibernian in last season’s League Cup final despite nursing a hamstring injury which would soon rule him out for more than three months. He also notched both Celtic goals in this season’s final against Rangers.

European dream

Caley Thistle will guarantee European group stage football if they win – they will go into the Europa League play-offs and drop into the Conference League group if they lose. Aberdeen and Hibernian fans will be cheering on Celtic. The Dons will get the Europa League play-off spot if Celtic win but enter the Conference League qualifiers otherwise, while Hibs need a Hoops win to qualify for Europe. It is all or nothing for Caley Thistle with the Scottish Cup runners-up no longer getting a European place.

Cup reprieve

Inverness could find themselves featuring in quiz questions for decades if they pull off a shock, as the team that won the Scottish Cup despite losing in an earlier round. Caley Thistle were beaten 2-0 by Queen’s Park in a rearranged fourth-round tie but the Spiders were expelled from the competition for fielding an ineligible player – Euan Henderson had been signed on loan from Hearts after the original date. Inverness seized their second chance by defeating Premiership sides Livingston and Kilmarnock before a 3-0 semi-final win against Falkirk.

Kick-off controversy

In a break with tradition, the game will kick off at 5.30pm after the Scottish Football Association elected to make way for the Manchester derby FA Cup final in a bid to maximise television exposure. The decision disappointed both clubs and Inverness blamed the later kick-off as the reason they handed back 2,500 tickets.

Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley insists it will not be difficult to remain focused on the Scottish Cup final amid growing speculation over the future of manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou has become the odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham with one report claiming he will meet Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Monday.

The Celtic manager batted away questions over his future on Thursday as he bids to avoid distractions ahead of Saturday’s Hampden clash with Inverness and O’Riley claims the players will not be sidetracked.

“It’s not hard, to be honest,” the 22-year-old said. “There is always so much noise in football. Even with players, with managers, all sorts.

“There is a lot of stuff in the media all the time but I personally don’t believe most of the things I see, just because I know how football works.

“I’m sure he is very happy where he is because we are doing very well.

“It’s just part of football. Media-wise, there is always something going on and I’m sure there will always be the odd surprise that gets thrown in, someone leaves that you don’t expect, someone joins that comes out of nowhere. You just have to be ready for whatever comes.”

Postecoglou has been linked with numerous Premier League jobs throughout the season and Celtic have shown the focus to stay on course for a treble.

“It comes from, first of all, the hierarchy, the manager and staff setting the foundation of what can we do today to improve and taking it day by day,” O’Riley said.

“If you think too much about the future or stuff that has happened before, that’s when problems start to occur because you are probably in your head a bit too much.

“As long as we are focused on the day-to-day basics of trying to improve one another then I don’t think it should be a problem.”

However, the former MK Dons midfielder understands why many Celtic fans are anxious about the future amid the growing speculation over Postecoglou.

“He has provided so much success to the club, and hopefully that continues, and naturally fans are attached to someone who brings so much success,” he said.

“The same goes for the players in the group right now, everyone had good seasons for the most part, so naturally there is going to be interest in players, but hopefully we can keep as many together and push on even more next season.”

Alistair Johnston discovered that every triumph was special at Celtic when seeing the joy on serial winner Callum McGregor’s face as the captain lifted the first two trophies of the season.

Johnston is one match away from completing a clean sweep of major honours in Scotland five months after joining Celtic from Montreal.

McGregor is going for his 20th winners’ medal on Saturday when Celtic face Inverness in the Scottish Cup final and Johnston expects it would mean just as much for his skipper to again meet the demands and expectations of fans.

The 24-year-old said: “I know the extraordinary has become ordinary a little bit at this club with how many trophies they have lifted over the past decade. But still, for guys like myself, this would be my third-ever trophy in my entire career.

“And I know Cal is probably on 40 or whatever it is but even for him, when you see how much excitement and joy it brings to him and guys like that – James Forrest, I mean he might be on 50 for all I know – you can really tell how much it means.

“When you see that from the older guys who have been there and done that, especially as a new guy, you are like ‘okay, yeah, this is really big’. I am really excited and I would love to be a part of it.

“When you see over the past decade, not only the trophies but the trebles that have been won, you almost take it for granted a little bit that ‘oh, Celtic won another one, it’s not that big of a deal’.

“But now, being here and truly understanding and seeing the work that goes on behind the scenes and just the amount of effort that each guy puts in, it really rings true to me. It’s like ‘wow, each one of these is special’.

“Just because some guys have won a lot of them, it doesn’t make that next one any less special.

“I am just really excited to be in a position where I could potentially be walking out of here after six months with a treble. That is everything and more I could have asked for, but when I came in those were the expectations, that was what was put on me, it’s trophies or nothing.

“I am just really happy we are delivering for our fans so far but it will be a big match this weekend, it won’t be easy.”

Johnston’s appetite has been further whetted by seeing clips of previous Hampden success, including the penalty shoot-out that won Celtic the Scottish Cup against Hearts in 2020 to clinch the quadruple treble.

The Canada international said: “It gave you that hunger as one of the new players: ‘I want to be part of that, I want to leave my mark on this club as well’.

“As you get closer to these finals, some of those clips come up and it really puts things in perspective. You can just see the joy it brings to the fans and players. That’s something you want to be part of as a footballer.”

At one stage Johnston feared he would not be part of it after suffering a leg injury in a tackle on Rangers full-back Borna Barisic in the semi-final, but he fought back to fitness to play in the final match of the league season against Aberdeen last weekend.

“When I made the tackle, I thought it could be an issue,” he said. “Just because when I stood up and realised I couldn’t put any real weight on it.

“But the scans were better than expected and I have done a lot with the medical team, they have been unbelievable. They have been in every day pretty much with me doing the long hours because I made it really clear I wanted to be back, not only for the cup final, but I wanted to be back to be in contention for selection for the Aberdeen match because I wanted to be out on that pitch.

“You could probably see the joy it brought me being out there, I was loving life. Even though I got a bit tight, it was just precautionary to get me off.

“Now all the focus is on the cup final. I feel good enough to be able to go. I don’t think anyone is perfect at this point of the season.

“They are long years, a lot of matches, a lot of minutes on everyone’s bodies. But it’s a cup final, an opportunity to lift a trophy, and you can get through some pretty serious pain for that.”

Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi is “bullish” about his chances of making the Scottish Cup final despite not training so far this week.

The Japan international went off with a leg knock during last Saturday’s 5-0 win over Aberdeen after coming off worse in a 50-50 with Dons goalkeeper Kelle Roos.

The 28-year-old has scored 33 goals this season and won a clean sweep of Scotland’s player of the year awards, and he has an impressive record in cup finals, with match-winning doubles in the League Cup in each of his two seasons with Celtic.

Boss Ange Postecoglou said: “Kyogo is progressing. He hasn’t trained yet. The plan is to get him out there tomorrow (Friday) and see how he goes. He is doing some individual stuff this afternoon.

“He always is, but he is still pretty bullish about playing so we will just see how he goes.

“We will be guided by him a little bit. We have done that in the past. He has had a couple of times, whether it’s with his shoulder or in last year’s League Cup final he went in with a hamstring that wasn’t totally healed and scored a couple of goals.

“So I will be guided by him. He is very strong mentally so if he gives us the green light we will put him in there.”

The only definite absentee is Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy, who has been nursing a back problem in recent weeks.

Postecoglou said: “(Alistair) Johnston is fine, he has trained all week and (Sead) Haksabanovic is back in so he is available as well. The only real absence is Aaron Mooy.”

Captain Sean Welsh has told his Inverness team-mates they have to believe they can pull off “a miracle” in what will be the biggest game of his career this Saturday.

The cinch Championship side are big underdogs for their Scottish Cup final showdown with Celtic, who are bidding to complete a domestic treble.

Welsh knows it will take a huge effort to pull off an upset at Hampden but the 33-year-old is adamant his team have a chance.

“It ranks at the very top for me,” said the former Partick Thistle and Falkirk midfielder when asked about the size of the game in the context of his career.

“It’s not very often you get to play on an occasion like this, especially at my age getting to the latter stages of my career. I am thoroughly looking forward to it.

“We’ve got to believe, I’ve said that to the lads all week. We’ve got to believe we can pull off a miracle.

“We don’t just want to go there for a day out and get caught up in the occasion.

“We know it’s a massive challenge in front of us, but we’ve got to have belief in ourselves.

“We know we have a good group and we know we are going to be up against it at times in the game but we’ve got to stick together and have that belief that we can do it.”

Celtic won only two of their closing six Premiership matches as they had the title wrapped up with time to spare, but Welsh dismissed any notion that his team can draw encouragement from the champions’ recent form dip.

“I don’t think you can look too much into that,” he added.

“They wrapped up the title early doors and then had a few results they probably weren’t happy with but you saw at the weekend (when they beat Aberdeen 5-0) they can turn it on when they need to. I’m sure they’ll be right up for this.

“It’s not going to make much difference to us, we know how hard the challenge is going to be.”

Inverness will have gone more than four weeks without a competitive game by the time they run out at Hampden on Saturday.

Although Welsh admits it is “not ideal” in terms of maintaining match sharpness, he feels the month-long break has at least allowed them to banish any lingering disappointment after they lost to Ayr in their final Championship fixture and missed out on the play-offs.

“It was good to get some time to get over what happened in the last game of the season,” he said.

“That was a difficult night and we were all very disappointed to miss out on the play-offs so the time away was good for us to clear our minds and get over it.

“We didn’t want that lingering going into this massive game.

“We’ve come back in refreshed and excited and we’re looking forward to it.”