manager: we'll be up for the cup

Laura Brannan
TONY Mowbray is looking forward to Sunday’s Scottish Cup tie against Dunfermline, and while he knows it will be a tough game against the First Division side, the Celtic manager is also confident that his side can progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

The Hoops set up the meeting with Dunfermline courtesy of a 1-0 away win against Morton, while the Pars took two attempts to beat Stenhousemuir after their first victory was ruled invalid because they fielded an ineligible player.

But having finally seen off Stenhousemuir with an extra-time win, Jim McIntyre’s side will be looking forward to taking on Celtic as underdogs, something Tony Mowbray is well aware of.

“We’ve got to respect Dunfermline. They’re a good football team and they have some good experienced players who know what the SPL is all about,” he said. “We’re expecting a very tough game but will go there and try and progress in the cup.

“The Scottish Cup is one of the major trophies. It’s what we’re all here for - to win silverware and be successful.”

Celtic go into Sunday’s match on the back of a disappointing SPL defeat at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock. It was a frustrating night for the Hoops, who enjoyed the bulk of possession and chances in the match, yet saw the home side score the only goal of the night to win the match.

But Tony Mowbray explained that the belief remains as strong as ever within the Celtic camp.

“If you break down Tuesday night, it was a game very similar to what we’ve been seeing for the last couple of weeks, probably longer,” he said.

“We got lots of the ball, lots of chances, lots of possession, lots of positive play and yet we didn’t quite get the result.

“So we go to Dunfermline understanding that we’ll probably have slightly more of the ball than they will and probably create more chances than they will, but that doesn’t guarantee a result. We’ve got to work extremely hard and make sure our positive play is rewarded with a victory.

“We want to win on the way, of course we do. We can’t deny the fact we get hugely disappointed when we don’t win football matches, but there has to be a bigger picture of where we take this club, where we’re going to be and the foundations put in place.

“I think we’ve got the talent and the quality in the dressing room to do that and I feel that in every game we can be the dominant force on the football field, but again, that doesn’t guarantee that we win the football match.

“What you do is you prepare properly and send the team out to try and win the game and that’s what we do every time.”

Dutch internationalist Edson Braafheid could be in line to make his Celtic debut at East End Park this Sunday, but injury sees Jos Hooiveld, Andy Hinkel, Shaun Maloney, Paddy McCourt and Mark Wilson are missing.