captain aiming for youth cup final glory

David Friel
JASON MARR has experienced an array of football highs over the last few weeks. Now he wants to top it all off by lifting the Scottish Youth Cup.

Fresh from captaining Scotland Under-19s in a European Championship qualifier against Denmark, the Celtic youth-team skipper guided his side past Hibernian and Aberdeen and into the Scottish Youth Cup final.

And not content with turning in a faultless defensive performance as Celtic beat the Dons 2-1 at Pittodrie, Marr also weighed in with the winning goal in a dramatic finish to the semi-final.

Next up is Hampden and Rangers in the Youth Cup final tomorrow, Wednesday, April 23. When he leads Celtic out at the National Stadium, a sense of pride will rush through him.

But that will pale in comparison to the elation he would feel should the Hoops beat their city rivals and secure a record 10th Scottish Youth Cup.

“To lead the boys out at Hampden will be brilliant, but to win it would be the perfect way to finish off the season,” he said.

“There is a real determination in the squad to win the cup. We have had some good results recently and been really consistent in the tournament. Now we want to try and finish it off.

“Personally, the last few weeks have been brilliant. I’ve played at Celtic Park and Pittodrie with Celtic, and at McDiarmid Park with Scotland.

“Now we’ve got Hampden to look forward to again. On a personal level, this is my final season with the youth team and I can’t think of a better way to end my time at this level.”

While Marr is one of the most experienced members of the Celtic youth squad, he has been joined by a number of new recruits this season and insists he can see them improving on a daily basis.

He said: “The younger boys have done well and the whole squad is on a high going into the final. We’re a young team and we can only get better. For the boys who will be staying on with the youths, this will have been brilliant for them.”

Now for Rangers and Wednesday’s final. Marr was one of a handful of players who were involved in the final last season, when Celtic lost to their city rivals.

“Coming off the park last year, I felt physically sick,” he said. “We know what it feels like to lose like that and we never want it happen again.

“It will be a tough game – we know that. But we have defeated some good sides to get this far and we will go into the game on a high. We’re all up for the challenge.”

To watch the full press conference click here.

SFA Youth Cup Final
Celtic v Rangers
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Kick-off 7.30pm
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Admission: £5/£2 concessions
(Pay at the gate: cash only)