Carl Starfelt on Celtic replacements for Cameron Carter Vickers as he backs stand in partners to 'shift momentum'

Celtic ace Carl Starfelt might be missing his big buddy Cameron Carter-Vickers at the back but he’s ready to do a babysitting gig at Hampden with whoever gets the nod alongside him at the heart of the defence.

The Swede has formed a formidable duo with the American this season but his partner will miss this weekend’s Scottish Cup Final after clocking off early for the season to undergo knee surgery ahead of next term. Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has chopped and changed his centre halves alongside Starfelt, with Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata both getting chances to stake their claims.

The pair of them have looked the part at times and a tad shaky at others, and it remains to be seen who gets the nod against Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday evening as the Parkhead men look to complete the last leg of a historic Treble. But Starfelt is ready to hold hands at Hampden and make sure Celts are the ones climbing the steps to lift the trophy.

The £4m signing from Rubin Kazan won’t be taking the Highlanders for granted, even if they did finish midtable in the Championship. The Hoops backline will need to be on their toes to keep tabs on veteran striker Billy McKay, who has notched nearly 150 goals in Scottish football – including one against Celts back in the day.

The Sweden cap said: “It is not so much about guiding other players, it’s doing little things to try to help them and especially form a relationship and an understanding of each other on the pitch. When you go out there on the pitch of course you want to be one unit but also every person has to really dig within themselves to get a performance. Everyone needs to perform on the day.

“No matter who is coming in, you have to build a new relationship when new players