Celtic v Hearts: Bad memories spur Celtic

CELTIC'S most recent cup trip to Hampden ended in misery. Ousted by lower league Ross County and subjected to a verbal lambasting from their manager in the media, they have little cause to dredge up memories of that Scottish Cup semi-final excursion to the national stadium, other than as an incentive to ensure that ignominy is not repeated, writes Moira Gordon.

"You'd like to think that," says manager Neil Lennon, who concedes that result threatened to deprive him of the opportunity to take charge on a permanent basis. "You'd hope they don't make the same mistakes they did on that particular day. Sometimes it's good to experience if they have the opportunity to rectify that the following season. I lost a cup final with Leicester to Spurs: it was really cruel on the day, and you wonder if you will have the opportunity to do that again. Funnily enough we went back and won it against Tranmere the following season. At Celtic these players, probably more than at many other clubs, get the opportunity to put things right."

Which is what Scott Brown says they must now do, starting with a semi-final victory over Aberdeen in the Co-operative Cup on Saturday. "One game doesn't make or break us," says the midfielder, who wants to lift his first silverware as captain. "We are a strong enough bunch of lads. We went there (against Ross County] and were disappointed and the ones that are still here know it will live with us for a long while. But I have had highs and lows in the cups.

"When I was at Hibs, we beat Rangers and Celtic (in the League Cup] only to get beaten by Livingston (in the final]. So that was a bit disappointing, but you take the good with the bad and two years later we managed to go on and win it. That was a great day. Then I won it with Celtic against Rangers in the final which is also a great thing to do. But it is not just about me lifting the trophy, it is about us winning games and getting to finals and if we get to finals we have got to have the balls to go and win it."