St Johnstone boss, Simo Valakari, doesn’t subscribe to the “lightning never strikes twice” football theory.
According to the McDiarmid Park head coach, the fact that Saints have recently beaten Celtic in the league should improve his team’s chances of performing well in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final as opposed to diminishing their hopes of producing a second sporting shock in a month.
“People will be thinking that because we beat Celtic at home, they’ll be angry now and so they’ll kick our asses,” said Valakari.
“But I see it the other way around.
“If they had hammered us, we wouldn’t be going into this weekend with confidence.
“The way it has worked out, our players know what’s possible.
“Of course, we also know what Celtic can do to teams.
“You saw it last weekend (when they thrashed Kilmarnock) but we have shown what can happen.
“You will need some great saves from the keeper, you will need the defence to work properly, and you will need some luck in certain moments.
“When the chances come, you have to take them.
“So rather than looking at it, thinking it’s not possible because we won the last time, I think about it the other way.
“The last game gave us an understanding of what’s needed and a feeling that we can do it.
“Brendan (Rodgers) hasn’t lost a game at Hampden but the more you go there the possibility of it happening maybe gets bigger.
“I am not a gambling man, though, so I wouldn’t know!”
No excuses
Valakari was impressed with his opposite number’s attitude to Celtic’s loss in Perth and Rodgers’ “no excuses” mantra is one he is trying to embed in his own dressing room.
“After the game here a couple of weeks ago you saw why Celtic are champions,” he said.
“They have been ruthless this season, but they didn’t look for excuses. They respected the game and looked at themselves.
“Their focus was all on what they could have done better and that’s the mindset which brings success.
“That’s the kind of mentality I want here, always looking inside and respect the outside.
“It’s why we respect the league position we’re in – we have put ourselves where we are and it’s up to us to get out of it.
“You have to stand tall in football and see where it takes you.”
Valakari added: “We deserve to be in the semi-final. We have been strong in our cup journey.
“These chances don’t come often, playing in a semi-final at Hampden.
“We have to enjoy it and play our game.
“It’s a big pitch, I know that. But maybe that will give us more space to play as well.
“Obviously that means it will be harder to get close to the Celtic players but let’s think positive about how it can help us too.”
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