WILFRIED NANCY insists his Celtic players DESERVE to win the Premier Sports League Cup Final when they face St Mirren at Hampden on Sunday afternoon.
The holders, who have won the trophy 22 times, go into the silverware showpiece on the back of two consecutive defeats in the new manager’s first couple of games.
The Frenchman watched the champions lose 2-1 to Hearts at Parkhead to blow the chance of going back to the Premiership pinnacle on Sunday.
Unhappily, they followed that up with a 3-0 Europa League loss against AS Roma at the same venue last night.
Nancy may be hoping for third time lucky against Stephen Robinson’s Paisley outfit who will be laying plans to make life as difficult as possible for their opponents, as they always do.
It has taken late goals from Luke McCowan and Callum McGregor to give the Hoops success over the Saints this season.
Looking at the build-up to the clash at the national stadium, Nancy said: “To be honest, it’s not difficult to prepare for the game.
“It’s a Final, so in terms of motivation and stimulation, it’s going to be easier, no doubt.
“It’s going to be easier on my players to focus to stay on the task regarding what we want to do to have a good performance. So we’re going to mix everything and to put out a team with fresh players and to go and win this Cup.
“Obviously, the fact that we didn’t win our last two games, mentally there could be a bit of uncertainty, but, to be honest, having had a good discussion with the players, we know what we did well, we know what we need to improve, everything is clear and they are really focused on this game.
“So, it doesn’t change to much regarding that. The context is that I stay positive and see only the good things regarding the game and what we’re going to do.”
Nancy, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “This is not for me, it’s for the club obviously, and this is more for the players because I know where we are, I know where we want to go and I know what we need to improve.
“So, now this is more for the players because they deserve this win regarding all the change and so on.”
The former Columbus Crew head coach added: “The Final is all about emotion and it’s how you balance the emotion.
“Play with emotion but also balance the emotion and I think the team that is going to be able to be good at that will maximise their chance to win.
“It’s going to be a tough game, as we know, but we’re ready to accept this challenge and do whatever it takes to win the game.”
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