Trust the tech­nique, believe in their own abil­ity – Maloney’s Ibrox message | OneFootball

Celtic’s interim assistant manager Shaun Maloney has given an insight into what went on at Ibrox ahead of Celtic penalty shoot-out win over the Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final earlier this month…

As a shadow Celtic side defied overwhelming odds to beat a seething Rangers at a seething Ibrox, the reality of this toxic fixture became evident at the Scottish Cup tie ended in blood and tears. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

While Martin O’Neill did the on-pitch team talk before the extra-time got underway it was Maloney who stepped up ahead of the shoot-out that Celtic won 4-2 will all four of Celtic penalty takers finding the back of the net. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Reo Hatate, Auston Trusty and finally Tomas Cvancara all found the back of the net while for the Rangers their captain James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama both skied their kicks over the crossbar under impress pressure from the home support.

Now Maloney has spoken about what was said and the process that allowed Celtic to come through the shoot-out with a perfect record with Celtic’s fifth penalty taker Liam Scales, the Celtic captain in the absence of Calllum McGregor, not needing to bother taking his.

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“It wasn’t any­thing too deep, really,” Shaun Moloney said, as reported by The National. “We had prac­tised these situ­ations before. We did it before the pre­vi­ous cup game against Dun­dee. It wasn’t any­thing com­plex, it wasn’t any­thing too motiv­at­ing, it wasn’t any­thing Churchillian.

Celtic celebrations at Ibrox after Celtic won the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

“The play­ers work really hard and the staff work hard with the play­ers. I just told them to trust the tech­nique that they have and to have belief in their own abil­ity. That is exactly what they did,” Maloney explained.

“It was a really intense game. The atmo­sphere was unbe­liev­ably intense. Obvi­ously, what happened after­wards was really dif­fi­cult. But on the pitch post-90 minutes and post-120 minutes was really, really intense.

James Forrest enjoying the Celtic celebrations at Ibrox after Celtic won the Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

“As a group of staff, we wanted to take the play­ers out of that atmo­sphere for even the briefest of moments and drive home to them the need to trust what they had when it came to the pen­al­ties. The pen­al­ties they took were bril­liant,” he noted.

“In these moments, there is very little a coach can say that will be that rel­ev­ant when they step up. The one good thing about being an ex-player in these moments is that you under­stand the feel­ing of being involved a pen­alty shoot-out. It is impossible to rep­lic­ate it until you are there,” the Celtic coached added.

Reo Hatate scores at Ibrox in the penalty shoot-out. Scottish Cup quarter final on Sunday 8 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

“I have never been involved in one at Ibrox. That adds an even big­ger layer to it. Full credit to the play­ers because mak­ing that walk would have been a really dif­fi­cult moment for them.

“There was not too much, if any­thing at all, we could do to pre­pare them for that.”

Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Having lost the Scottish Cup Final to Aberdeen in May 2025 on a penalty shoot-out and also the Champions League qualifier against Kairat Almaty in the same manner- both under Brendan Rodgers, it was a relief for the Celtic support to see a different approach and a successful one with the Celtic penalty takers all looking confident as they slotted their efforts away, much to the angst of the Rangers supporters.

Callum McGregor of Celtic applauds travelling fans after the full time whistle Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 Aug 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock

Shaun Maloney also confirmed that he will remain at Celtic next season but whether that is via a return to his Pathways manager role or in a coaching capacity with the first team, remains to be seem.

For now Celtic have eight league matches to play and one, or possibly two matches in the Scottish Cup. It all starts at Tannadice on Sunday afternoon with Celtic playing Dundee United after both Hearts and the Rangers play on Saturday. Last weekend Hearts dropped three points at Kilmarnock while Celtic beat Motherwell 3-1 while the Rangers got the points in a narrow 1-0 win away at St Mirren.

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order

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