Brendan Rodgers set for another trip to the National Stadium | OneFootball

Hampden is on the horizon once more for Celtic as Brendan Rodgers takes his side to the National Stadium this Sunday for the club’s Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone.

The Perth side showed their capabilities a fortnight ago when they won 1-0 against Celtic at McDiarmid Park, but it was an unfortunate Kilmarnock side that paid the price for that when a devastating start to last weekend’s match saw the Hoops dismantle the Rugby Park side with a 5-1 win.

The Celts also go to Hampden with an excellent record there over recent years and the bounce back last weekend has only added to the spring in the step at the club.

The manager said: “We’re very excited, our motivation is to arrive in to the final of the back of a very good performance and result.

“Obviously we played St Johnstone recently as well, so we know that we can’t give any more gifts in terms of our mentality going into the game. So having played them so recently, then it’s a really good thing of us.

“We learnt from the game, clearly you saw that in the performance last week, but it’s always important to reinforce that our first-half performance just showed if you think you can be not aggressive, and be passive in the game, and don’t give a lot and expect to gain a lot, it doesn’t work.

“That was our message after that performance.

“We’ve seen it so many times, there will always be favourites going into games, but you have to perform well.

“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, we got through last year on penalties and went on and won it, so it’s never just plain sailing all the way through.”

The manager added: “When I came here in 2016, there was always a bit of trepidation, Celtic went through a period when it was difficult both in semi-finals and finals.

“We sit here today as a football club with a feeling that we will win, and whether you do or not, the feeling and the mentality is that we have a feeling that we can go there and perform.

“And that’s a mindset that is with everyone at the club, with players, with supporters, and then you go and deliver, and that’s the plan

“The experience clearly helps you, because you know what it takes to deliver, so I think that a lot of the players here are winners and they understand it, and it’s up to us to help those guys that are coming through this phase for the first time.

“We’re really looking forward to this game. Like I said, the St Johnstone game was poor from our perspective, but the key to this team is how they bounce back.

“And I thought last weekend we were so good in the game – and I expected that, I expected us to be good in the game.

“The attitude was there, the winning attitude, and when we play with the speed, the intensity and the pressing then we’re a very, very difficult team to play against.

“And that’s what I always said when I first came in – I want us to be really, really difficult to play against with and without the ball.”

Watch the video in full to hear the manager on:

More pre-match build up

MATCH CENTRE

Fixtures

St. Johnstone Vs. Celtic - Sun, Apr 20th 2025, 15:00