Martin O'Neill: Players will be up for cup final challenge | OneFootball

The Celtic squad have been able to enjoy this week as champions, as has their manager, although over the past few days the focus has turned towards the last fixture of the 2025/26 campaign – the Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline Athletic at Hampden on Saturday.

It is an opportunity for the Hoops to secure the Double, although that’s not something Martin O’Neill and his players are taking for granted.

The Celtic manager knows that Neil Lennon will have his Dunfermline side well-organised and determined to try and provide the biggest of cup shocks, and having seen off Hibernian, Aberdeen and Falkirk on their road to the final, the Pars will not be overawed at facing the Scottish champions.

Speaking at the National Stadium ahead of Saturday’s final, Martin O’Neill said: “It would be fantastic if we could do it.

“It was so many years ago (last Scottish Cup final at Hampden) you’d have got long odds on me leading a team out against Neil Lennon’s team – he would have been in the side that won the last cup (in 2005) when I was involved, so I’m really looking forward to the match, the pitch looks really good and there’s just a bit of excitement about it.

“I remember Neil saying after the penalty shoot-out against Falkirk (semi-final) that it was attritional.

“They got there, and that’s the point – they made it to the final – and we could have been out of the competition against Dundee.

"We scored a goal in the very last minute and then won the game in extra-time, so there’s been twists and turns the whole way through.

“We’ve got to be right for the game, we’ve had a great couple of days and it’s been fantastic since Saturday evening. It’s been really fantastic, but now it’s total concentration on the game, which I believe the players, having come this far, will want to finish it.

“The players are really up for the game. There’s a strong mood in the camp wanting to do it and not let people down, having come this far. The euphoria of last Saturday has definitely hung around for a few days, which you would expect.”

Celtic’s title triumph this season has been one of the most memorable in the club’s history, one that, at certain times over the course of the campaign, didn’t appear likely to happen.

But the character of the players, inspired by their manager and his coaching staff, saw Celtic produce a dramatic victory at Celtic Park on the final day of the league season to clinch a fifth successive title.

“There’s a difficulty in accepting the fact that we won it,” Martin O’Neill said.

“Of course, everybody outside our own diaspora and probably part of Edinburgh who have wanted us to win, wanted Hearts to win because it’s a great story, a great fable and things like that.

“It’s one of the really great stories in our history and now we want to try and finish it off here.

“We’ll get a really great crowd at the game. The crowd will be coming in expectation so we have to be ready for that challenge as well – the challenge of expecting to win the game, and we have to take that on board.”

Fixtures

Celtic Vs. Dunfermline Athletic - Sat, May 23rd 2026, 15:00