McIntyre looks forward to final challenge

Celtic’s u-17 side are on the trophy trail tonight against Sevco in the final of the Glasgow Cup at Firhill, kick-off 7pm.

Earlier this month Tommy McIntyre’s squad excelled in the Spartak Trophy staged in Moscow where they finished level on points with Barcelona ahead of Spurs, Benfica, Dinamo Kiev and hosts Spartak Moscow.

Tonight’s match is bound to be lively with a crowd close to 10,000 expected with McIntyre confident that his players can showcase their talent to lift the trophy.

“We’ve told the players not to play the occasion- just play their usual game,” the hoops coach stated.

“We just need to bring the players down a little bit to channel those energies into focusing on the game. Try to block out the crowd and other distractions to focus on the game.

“They are good enough and talented enough, their development is a long process aimed at the first team and this match is a a good challenge for us and one that we’re really looking forward to.

“The match will take care of itself, we have a lot of talented young players who have been well prepared for this match over the last few weeks.

“It’s an exciting period for the academy, the u-20’s have just won the league and have the youth cup final on Wednesday, many of them have experienced a Glasgow Cup Final.

“This game is part of a package in our players development. A cup final is something that you get used to at Celtic and plays a part in their development. They need to get used to the emotions of a cup final because hopefully there will be a lot more to come.”

Last month Celtic drew 2-2 with their city rivals at Murray Park with the return fixture cancelled once both clubs had reached the final.

Celtic were 2-0 down at the interval but roared back with goals from Liam Henderson and Paul McMullan to secure a point with McIntyre looking to draw lessons from that match.

He added: “We’re fully aware of how we can improve on that game, we’ve analysed that game and will make a few changes.

“You are always wiser after the occasion and we’ve got to use that to boost our knowledge and performance.

CLICK HERE for Sevco 2-2 Celtic