Gary Warren urges Inverness to match Celtic

The Highlanders are third in the Scottish Premiership and on their way to their best ever finish in the top flight. John Hughes’ side are also possibly just 90 minutes away from their first appearance in the final of Scotland’s premier cup competition. Caley and Celtic drew 1-1 in the league last week at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium and have one win apiece in their previous two league meetings this season, setting things up nicely for the cup clash. The treble-seeking Hoops are strong favourites but Warren is hoping the confidence he has in taking the final step to possible cup glory is shared by the rest of the Inverness squad. The 30-year-old defender said: “Celtic have a tremendous amount of talent throughout their squad. You could see that last Saturday and in the previous games we played them. “But so have we. We have players in the side who can be matchwinners, players who can dig deep and grind out results. “It is a semi-final, a massive game but we want to get to the final. We can’t think that it stops on Sunday. We need to win to get to the final. “It is a fantastic occasion and we are going to a new place for a lot of our players, the home of Scottish football. That might give us a bit of excitement and the players will look forward to playing there.” Warren, who signed from Newport in 2012, was suspended for the Scottish League Cup final last season which was lost on penalties to Aberdeen at Celtic Park. The Bristolian believes the way Caley have bounced back from that disappointment is, “down to the character of the players and everyone involved at the club”. He continued: “It is a small club and to finish where we finished last season (fifth) is an amazing achievement. “And not only that, to bounce back and go again this year, and to hopefully go one better than we did last season, is an incredible achievement. “Day in, day out, the players strive to be the best they can, in training and in games. “This year we have taken on a new style of football and played a different way compared to last season. “The boys have taken that on board and done extremely well - but now it is about getting over the line. “Can we add that extra bit of character and resolve to go and win something? “I think the club needs a bit of silverware or a top three and a European spot.” FOLLOW US Twitter | Facebook | Google+ Subscribe to our DAILY NEWSLETTER (requires registration) SCOTSMAN TABLET AND MOBILE APPS iPhone | iPad | Android | Kindle