Celtic boss issues 'new expectation' reminder after cup final win as Rangers boss makes penalty confession

A first-half strike from Morgan Cross sealed the Celtic boss’ first trophy win since he was appointed as the club’s new head coach in December, with his side forced to battle for the victory after Emma Lawton was sent off for a second bookable offence just before the hour mark.

The victory means Celtic end an underwhelming campaign that saw them finish in a disappointing fifth position on a major high, and Scott has urged his team to use it as a springboard for a more successful campaign next year as he looks ahead to his first full year in charge of the club.

“Cup final wins are special moments,” smiled Scott. “You get to celebrate with your fans and your players. I’m thoroughly delighted for the group. Anyone that saw the last few performances against Rangers will know that was a completely different performance level from what we'd achieved before. We were disappointed with those, there's no getting away from it.

“One of the things we asked them to do this week was get closer to their opponent, a little more dogged, commit the challenge - in the nicest possible way, be more difficult to break down and I thought we did that today. Without dismissing the last few games of the season, it’s something I have in my mind that I’d like to put some new parameters on the group and a new expectation level.

“Having done the small bits of that over the last five months, today gives me the option to dictate a few more things as we go forward. Brilliant finish to the season, and we’ll take the forward as a motivating tool, but I hope that this team will look to different to what it has in the last five months when we arrive at the new season.”

Meanwhile, Rangers head coach Leanne Crichton admits she’ll spend the summer reflecting on a tough debut managerial campaign. Narrowly missing out on the SWPL league title, she has witnessed her side lose both the Sky Sports Cup final and Women’s Scottish Cup final, ending the season trophyless.

The 38-year-old concedes that pressure will be placed on her shoulder ahead of next season, but is already planning for the upcoming summer transfer window, while she also refused to criticise referee Abbie Hendry after she waved away a late penalty appeal from Mia McAuley.

“I’ve not seen it back,” admitted Crichton. “I thought at the time it looked 50-50 from the angle I was at. I thought that maybe Mia got her body in front, and when the defender’s at the wrong side there’s very little you can do to impact the ball, so I’d need to see it back. But we had VAR today and if there was something to be seen that VAR and Abbie would be able to come to the right decision.

“That’s the reality of football. You get three cracks at it - two cup finals and a last day shootout, and we’ve fallen short on three occasions. We’ve got European football as a silver lining. We’ll prepare for that, we’ll be ready for it. Pre-season is going to be really important, it is something I didn’t get with this group last season, so it’s important I used that time wisely and nail down the team we want to be.”

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