The Celtic cup final quirk against Rangers as defender looks emulate to join unlikely list of Hampden heroes

Carl Starfelt admits he’d love to join Celtic’s list of unlikely Hampden heroes. The Swedish star’s No.1 priority in Sunday’s Viaplay Cup Final will be to keep opponents Rangers off the scoresheet.

But, as has been shown in the recent past, the door is open for a Parkhead central defender to make a memorable contribution at the other end. The last time Celtic and Rangers met in a League Cup Final in 2019, it was stopper Christopher Jullien who grabbed the winning goal for Neil Lennon’s troops. Ten years earlier when Gordon Strachan’s men sank Rangers to lift the trophy, it was Darren O’Dea who emerged as the shock scoring hero.

Celtic’s current B Team coach hadn’t scored that entire season before he headed home in extra-time to set-up a victory. Starfelt isn’t noted for his regular goalgrabbing, but, when it was pointed out to him that Celtic defenders have a recent past in being heroes on occasions such as the one looming this weekend, he smiled: “I will do my best. That would be nice!”

But, of course, where there is glory, there can also be disappointment. It was Starfelt’s unlucky own goal with six minutes of extra-time remaining which settled the last Old Firm Hampden meeting in last term’s Scottish Cup semi-final.

Starfelt doesn’t know if it’ll be as tight again as it was on that day last April and said: "It is too difficult to predict. We will go in with our gameplan. We will go in to play our football and how it will play out, we will see.

“In these games, you need 100 per cent concentration in every situation. It can be a set-piece or a counter-attack, it can be anything so you need to concentrate. It is a big thing to never relax, but to always be focused and concentrated.”

Ange Postecoglou’s men go back to