Stephen Welsh wants Scottish Cup win over Rangers to repay Celtic fans

Stephen Welsh believes a Scottish Cup win at Ibrox on Sunday will help in part repay Celtic fans whose 10 in a row dreams were shattered  by Rangers.

Steven Gerrard’s relentless Gers side left the Hoops in their slipstream on the way to winning  the club’s 55th Premiership title.

Celtic did win the Scottish Cup for a record fourth successive time when they beat Hearts on penalties in the delayed 2020 final at Hampden Park in December.

And 21-year-old defender Welsh, who earlier in the week signed a new four-year contract that will see him remain at Celtic until at least the summer of 2025, is looking to get past the Gers in their fourth-round tie and stride on to finish the season on a high at Hampden again.

He said: “We know it has been a difficult season.

“The performances on the whole haven’t been good enough for the standards this club hold.

“So winning a trophy at the end finishes (the season) on a bit of a high and it all starts on Sunday. If we win on Sunday it is a really big one.

“We will be looking for that, we go in with a lot of confidence and playing really well so we look forward to it and hopefully we can repay the fans with a win.

“It  is always a big game, especially going to Ibrox. It probably puts the pressure on a wee bit, it is the last cup to win this season but we are looking forward to doing that.

“This club is built on winning trophies. We have done that for the past few years.

“This is the next step to going and doing it again and five Scottish Cups in a row would be a massive thing.

“So we are very much looking forward to it. Hopefully we can go and put a good performance in and get into the next round.”