KRIS COMMONS admits Celtic will have extra motivation for a clean sweep next season – because of their controversial Scottish Cup knock-out.
The midfielder is still upset at referee Steven McLean’s failure to spot Josh Meekings’ handball in the 3-1 semi-final loss against Inverness Caley Thistle.
But Commons reckons that decision – with the Hoops leading 1-0 at the time – will spur on Ronny Deila and his team-mates in the new campaign.
He said: “We will go into next season with the same mentality – to win all three domestic tournaments.
“That has been in my sights ever since I came through the door. Every single year we look to win the league, win the Cups and reach the group stages of the Champions League. That is the four main targets for the season.
“This year was the closest we came to achieving it, but lady luck was not on our side.
“Going back to the semi-final, the swing in the space of 10 minutes of thinking we should have had a penalty, been 2-0 up and they should have been down to 10 men to us actually going to 10 men and then going to 1-1 was probably the craziest I have ever been a part of.
“There is a reason why only two Celtic managers – Jock Stein and Martin O’Neill – have ever achieved the feat. You do need a little bit of fortune and this year we didn’t have the rub of the green.“This year there was more emphasis on the Treble because we were knocked out of the Champions League.
“Under Neil Lennon, when we were in the top European competition, we probably took the Cups a little bit for granted.
“It is difficult when you are playing for Celtic that you have such big games coming up.”
The Parkhead side were derailed in the Champions League qualifiers by Maribor after their remarkable escape against Legia Warsaw following home and away losses.Commons, though, believes the team are better equipped for a tilt at Europe’s elite next term.
He added: “It was hard last season. There were too many changes, too quickly.
“Now, we are not trying to do training drills in games and work out what way Ronny wants us to play.
“We know how we wants us to play and what he expects of us.
“We are confident we can progress and get into the group stages of the competition.”
In her interview for the new edition of CQN Magazine, Lisa Hague has promised to get Kris back from his holiday fit and good to go for the Champions League qualifiers. Read the interview HERE.
