'If Rangers had scored ...': Arne Engels lands Celtic's post-final dart as ominous warning fired to rivals

As the non-award of a penalty for Rangers in last Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final dominated the agenda for much of this week, the victorious Celtic players found sanctuary 398 miles away from Hampden Park.

There was no controversy at Alexandra Palace as the Celtic squad took in some darts action at the PDC World Championships. No doubt the Bhoys in attendance would have given an extra cheer if a score of 119 was hit. The 119th trophy for this storied club, claimed in one the all-time classic finals, was one to savour, moving them one ahead of Rangers.

“I had a great time at the darts with the boys,” said midfielder Arne Engels, who set up one of the cup final goals and scored a penalty in the shootout. “It was a bit of a team building trip and we enjoyed it. It’s been a really nice week. Everyone really enjoyed winning the cup.”

Arne Engels celebrates with the Premier Sports Cup. | SNS Group

Now back at their Lennoxtown sanctuary, Celtic’s mission has since been to blank out the noise and prepare for their Premiership assignment against Dundee United on Sunday lunchtime. The admission from Scottish football’s head of referees Willie Collum that Rangers should have been awarded a penalty when Liam Scales tugged Vaclav Cerny’s shirt in extra time have taken the shine off Celtic’s achievement - externally anyway.

“I’m not aware of everything that’s been said but last Sunday we showed that we’re a really good team who can perform in the big games,” said Engels. “We deserved to win it and that’s why we were on the podium. That’s all that matters.

“Is it a shame that people are talking about other things? I don't know what they're saying. But James Forrest equalled a record by winning another trophy for Celtic. He has so many medals now and is a quality player. If there needs to be something said after Sunday, it should be about him.

“If Rangers had got a penalty and scored, we could still have come back and won the game, 100 percent. We’ve already shown a few times that we can come back. We won the cup, which is the most important thing. I don’t want to talk about anything else. We’ve shown that we have such a strong squad who performs on the big occasions.”

Engels and Celtic are prepared for Sunday's return to Premiership action against Dundee United. | SNS Group

Such is the mentality within Celtic Park, the players move on to the next challenge. Winning is normal, the minimum expectation. “It’s a case of winning one trophy and it’s on to the next one,” said Engels. “That’s our mentality here. Nobody at this club really cares about what other people say about us. We only look at ourselves. We know what goals we have for the rest of the season and that’s what we’re working towards.

“A really strong part of our squad is that we don’t look at other things, only ourselves. We want to improve every day together. Hopefully we can achieve that together, it would be really nice. The winning mentality here is different to what I’ve experienced before. Kasper [Schmeichel] has said if you win here, it’s a normal feeling. But if you draw or lose, it’s a disaster. That’s so true. Everyone has that mindset.

“We drew 2-2 with Aberdeen and afterwards, it was like we’d lost everything in the dressing-room. I really like that mentality within the group. We only accept wins. That’s why we’re in such a good way.”