Handling pressure and the demands of the big occassion are an essential element in player development with the game full of training ground wonderkids that couldn’t translate their skills into a competitive environment.
“By developing young players you should also have successful teams,” McIntyre argued. “Success breeds success, there is no one solution for everything, there’s a blend to be achieved between having success and creating momentum in players development.
“Primarily we are here to develop young players but at any level there are lessons to be learned about winning trophies.
“We know that all of our players have talent- they wouldn’t be at Celtic if they didn’t but talent isn’t enough.
“They need to have hunger and desire and we’ll be looking to see that at Hampden on Wednesday.”
On the back of The McLeish Report the Hampden clash between Celtic and Rangers will come in for additional attention and scrutiny.
McIntyre and his coaches are precise in their preparations for every match but know that ultimately it’s up to players to perform on the pitch.
In the last two months Celtic and Rangers have traded wins at Barrafield and Murray Park to give their Hampden clash an extra edge.
Looking towards tomorrow’s match McIntyre added: “We have prepared the players well and want them to enjoy the occasion of playing at Hampden in a cup final.
“We want them to display the talent that they have, to play their game and keep things simple.
“As young players we recognise that they will make mistakes but we hope that they can do themselves justice.
“Even senior players get nervous at cup finals but hopefully we can settle quickly and enjoy a great occasion.
“They’ve worked hard all season and it would be great for them to play to their potential and pick up a trophy for their efforts.”
