IBROX stand-in boss Graeme Murty revealed his players CHEERED when they were drawn to face Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final on April 15 2018.
The interim gaffer, put in charge after Pedro Caixinho was sacked in October 2017, admitted his men had displayed their delight when they heard they had been paired with the holders.
The players had been at the stadium following their quarter-final win over Championship side Falkirk when the ballot was made live on TV. Murty stated they erupted with joy at the news.
TOP OF THE HEAP…Scott Brown joins the Celtic pyramid of joy after Tom Rogic’s opening strike in the 4-0 win over Graeme Murty’s Ibrox side in the 2018 Scottish Cup semi-final.
They weren’t in such a state of elation after the last-four encounter. Brendan Rodgers’ champions eased into a Scottish Cup Final meeting with Motherwell following a 4-0 triumph over a ragged Ibrox outfit in a one-sided semi-final.
Tom Rogic got the opener, Callum McGregor added the second before the interval and then the French double-act of Moussa Dembele and Olivier Ntcham rolled in two stick-on penalty-kicks to bring the curtain down on two years of happiness against the Govan club; eight wins and two draws in 10 games.
Skipper Scott Brown said: “We just knew as soon as we turned up that we were going to win. They can cheer as much as they want, I don’t think they’ll be cheering tonight. We knew, from start to finish, that we were going to dominate this game.
“We fancied it. We know that when we turn up and play our game on a good pitch that nobody can deal with us.”
SPOT ON…Moussa Dembele dinks in the third Celtic goal with a cheeky penalty-kick.
Swedish international right-back Mikael Lustig added: “Obviously, there was a lot of talk, but we stay calm, we’re humble and we do our talking on the pitch and we’ve won again. I didn’t really react, to be honest.
“However, they probably knew they were going to get some extra days off and get an extra holiday. That’s probably why they were cheering.”
Celtic completed the job with a 2-0 triumph over Well in the silverware shoot-out with McGregor and Ntcham on target.
It didn’t end well for Murty. Following another hammering from the Hoops – this time 5-0 at Parkhead when the seventh successive title was claimed – he was removed from the caretaker role at the start of May and returned to his previous role with the Under-20s.
He left the club in November 2021
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