Treble kings! Ange’s Celtic reign supreme in dominant cup win

Ange Postecoglou has claimed a fifth trophy in just two years with Celtic, but deflected swirling rumours about his future.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MAY 24: Ange Postecoglou is seen with the trophy during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park Stadium on May 24, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic shrugged off speculation over manager Ange Postecoglou’s future to complete a domestic treble by beating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3-1 in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday.

Postecoglou, who has been linked with the vacant managerial position at Tottenham, won his fifth trophy in two seasons at Celtic thanks to goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and Jota.

A treble of Scottish Premiership, League Cup and Scottish Cup is the eighth in Celtic’s history, five of which have come in the last seven seasons.

Ange Postecoglou is a winner once again.

Postecoglou insisted ahead of the game that his focus was on ending a successful campaign on a high.

But the Australian’s side struggled to hit top gear against second-tier Inverness, despite dominating possession and the shot count.

It took until seven minutes before halftime for the Hoops to break the deadlock when Furuhashi thrashed home his 34th goal of the season from Matt O’Riley’s cross.

Celtic looked home and dry 25 minutes from time when captain Callum McGregor led a counter-attack to square for Abada to tap home from close range.

Inverness, though, set up a grandstand finish when Daniel MacKay’s bullet header pulled a goal back with six minutes to go.

But Celtic set the seal on another piece of silverware in stoppage time when Jota controlled Abada’s cross and prodded home.

Ange Postecoglou said: “I’m very proud of the whole group. It’s a bit surreal when you think about what we have achieved.

“I’ve said before, coming off the back of last year when we probably had some unexpected success in terms of the double, the challenge this year was to come back bigger and better. I said it on the final day of last season, as we wanted to try and improve.

“It’s easy for me to say that, but the lads have just embraced every challenge along the way. For us to do that, we needed to fill that gap from last year by winning the Scottish Cup.

“It’s such a great occasion anyway, and this football club has got an unbelievable history of success.

“For this group, they have got their small bit of history in there now, which is theirs forever, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Ange Postecoglou celebrates the emotional win.

Speaking of his personal success, he added: “When you join this football club, of course it’s a great opportunity but there is also a lot of responsibility there.

“‘There are certain levels of performance and success that you have to deliver. You take that on board.

“So to do something that few have done is brilliant. All the success I have had in my career, it’s all special in its own way. But this one I am extremely proud of.”

Originally published as Treble kings! Ange’s Celtic reign supreme in dominant cup win