A relieved James Forrest last night savoured his tenth domestic medal in a row - and said Celtic’s BetFred triumph was even sweeter because they have never played worse in a showpiece and still won.
Forrest was a non-factor in difficult conditions on Mount Florida for much of the afternoon yesterday but the end result was an 18th major trophy, the kind of haul which only a select few in the history of the club can match or improve upon.
“It’s always good winning trophies with Celtic, I’ve got the medals all stacked up,” said Forrest. “I’ve got them set out nicely. I’ve only started doing that just recently so it’s great to be able to add another one.
“My girlfriend has actually sorted them out," he added. "She’s put them out that way. I just had them in boxes so it’s good to actually see them like that. It’s ten in a row and it’s unbelievable.
“It makes it even sweeter as this was the worst we’ve played but we’ve grinded it out and the relief of winning is incredible. I’m still only 28 and this team is so good so we’ll keep going.
"We didn’t turn up. The full day. Rangers had a good few chances and all the boys would say big Fraser was unbelievable. He’s won us that game. It was one of the best games I’ve seen him play.”
While Celtic’s character won the day, Jonny Hayes was another man who felt the best team lost. "To be honest I thought Rangers played well today and were the better team,” he said. “We haven't played as half as we can but we've still won the cup. The manager wasn't angry at half time, it was more that he was like a schoolteacher, more disappointed than angry. But we went in at half time thinking that was probably the best Rangers have got to give us and we were still 0-0.”
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