Celtic's sliding doors moment could have repercussions for next season - but only if hero is toppled

Trailing 1-0 to Dundee in their last-16 tie, Celtic were on the brink of elimination. A club rocked by the brief but catastrophic Wilfried Nancy era, crashing out of the tournament at such an early stage would have only amplified the negative noise surrounding the east end of Glasgow that no silverware would be heading their way come the end of the season.

Dundee had taken the lead through a monstrous Ethan Hamilton strike - a contender for goal of the Scottish Cup - and it appeared Celtic had run out of petrol, a Honda Civic spluttering off the road. But then the Ferrari moment came.

Sebastian Tounekti drove to the byline and fizzed the ball across goal. Fellow substitute Junior Adamu had mis-timed his run by a fraction but showed great dexterity to backheel it beyond goalkeeper Jon McCracken. It forced extra time, which Celtic went on to win 2-1 thanks to a Luke McCowan effort.

Celtic were in a fragile state at that point. Still reeling from the failed Nancy era, the stadium was half-full and unrest continued towards the board. Exiting the Scottish Cup at that point would have been so harmful. As it was, the team showed characteristics that are likely to define this campaign.

"The players found it, the players found the inspiration, the drive, the determination to go and actually just play to the very, very final whistle," said manager Martin O'Neill, not long into his second interim spell in charge.

"The players have found a resilience and a will to keep going."

That resilience got Celtic over the line last weekend in the Premiership as they clung on to their crown at the expense of Hearts. Since losing to Dundee United in mid-March, they have won their past eight matches - seven in the league, one in the cup. They’ve scored late, late goals, shown fortitude in Old Firm matches and recovered from going a goal behind on multiple occasions.

Celtic may be a shadow of their former self in terms of football ability, but that determination remains, and perhaps even greater than before.

O’Neill takes an enormous amount of credit for galvanising a morale-sapped dressing-room. His coaching staff, spearheaded by assistant Shaun Maloney, have found tactics and a formation that gets the team winning. With the league already pocketed, Celtic are heavy favourites to complete a domestic double by overcoming Dunfermline Athletic in Saturday’s Scottish Cup final.

A rescue mission that could last longer?

Should they defeat the second-tier Fife outfit, then O’Neill will match the two pieces of silverware (Premiership and Premier Sports Cup) that were snared last year. It would be a fine rescue mission, and strengthen the growing calls for the 74-year-old to remain in position for next season.

O’Neill says his future will not be properly addressed until after this match at Hampden. The focus is Dunfermline - and getting one over on his former Celtic and Leicester City captain Neil Lennon.

O’Neill brought Lennon to Scotland in 2000 and his 54-year-old compatriot was one of the driving forces behind five years of dominance for Celtic. He went on to manage the club himself between 2010-2014 and 2019-2021. Unlike O’Neill, he’s not managed a third spell - yet.

This cup final has therefore been branded as a Master v Apprentice encounter, although Lennon was right to call that “disrespectful” earlier in the week. He won ten trophies while in charge of Celtic; O’Neill only has eight.

Lennon owes a lot of his career to the guidance of O’Neill, but that will count for nothing when he proudly leads out Dunfermline at Hampden. The Pars were fighting relegation a year ago and the Northern Irishman saved them after answering an SOS call from ambitious owners James Bord and Evan Sofer. He stayed on and guided the East End Park side to fourth place in the Championship, losing to Partick Thistle in last week’s semi-finals.

Their Scottish Cup run has been mightily impressive. Three Premiership scalps have been taken in Hibs, Aberdeen and Falkirk. They have got to the final the hard way, their first since 2007. They have not won the trophy since 1968 - this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Dunfermline fans.

Lennon has improved a young squad of players. Centre-half Jeremiah Chilikoa-Mullen and attacking midfielder Matty Todd are the poster boys of this current Dunfermline crop. The manager will be glad to have goalkeeper Aston Oxborough back after he was recalled for a day by parent club Motherwell last weekend. His presence was sorely missed against Thistle and he will be restored to the starting XI.

Oxborough was the penalty shoot-out hero in the semis against Falkirk. Celtic lost last season’s final against Aberdeen from 12 yards, denying them a treble. There will be a desire to right that wrong from 12 months ago.

While O’Neill has hinted this could be his last match in charge, with the wily manager, you just never know. Perhaps the odds are shorter of on it being a farewell for some key players. Forward Daizen Maeda has netted eight goals in his past six matches, and his return to form is part of the reason why Celtic are where they are. He was denied a move to Wolfsburg last summer and is expected to seal a big-money transfer after the World Cup.

Midfielder Arne Engels is another who was kept in January despite Nottingham Forest offering £25 million for his services. The future of striker Kelechi Iheanacho, Celtic’s super-sub, is also up for debate.

Therefore, signing off a tumultuous campaign on a high is imperative for Celtic. In Lennon, they come up against one of their modern-day heroes. It is a fitting conclusion to a crazy season - and nobody would write off a final twist in the tail.

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