Celtic set off on the road to Hampden with a tricky SFA Youth Cup tie against Motherwell today, kick-off 2pm at Cappielow.
After four successive cup triumphs last seasons campaign ended at St Johnstone in the third round although a fifth league title was secured on the final day of the season.
The on-the-day nature of the Youth Cup brings a fresh dimension to the game with the over-age players used in the Development League excluded from the competition.
Looking at today’s match Stevie Frail said: “Everyone wants to be involved in cup finals, the Youth Cup is a massive occasion especially with the incentive of the final being played at Hampden.
“Every game is exciting, that’s the nature of cup ties and they have their own drama. Motherwell always produce good youth sides and we’ll need to be at our best to advance.
“Our players have had a lot of experience this season, we’ve generally had one of the youngest teams in the development league and this match is one to look forward to.”
Last Monday Celtic beat Hearts 3-1 in the Development League, coming from a goal behind to seal the match in stoppage time thanks to Kieran Tierney’s spectacular strike.
Beram Kayal, Nir Bitton, Alexsandar Tonev and Leigh Griffiths were all involved with Frail pleased by the effect of the more experienced players on the team.
“The four first team players against Hearts showed an excellent attitude but the younger players also did really well,” the Celtic coach added. “They showed what they can do when they play at a high tempo, when they are aggressive and work hard. That is what we ask of them, it’s what is needed to take them to the next level.
“The manager knows that we have the Development League to give players game time, he wants them to play in these matches. We don’t steamroller anyone, they are all tough matches against some experienced players.
“We started well against Hearts but it was frustrating that we never got an early goal. There was a bit of a lull midway through the second half but we came through strongly in the end. Jamie Lindsay scored a well worked goal then we had that amazing strike from Kieran Tierney.