Arbroath manager Paul Sheerin is convinced his players will do themselves and the club proud once more when they line up against Celtic in tomorrow night’s Scottish Cup replay.
Steven Doris’s late strike in Glasgow’s east end may have earned the Lichties another crack at the SPL champions a week past Saturday, but most pundits have already written off the Second Division side’s chances of repeating their exploits and reckon Neil Lennon’s men need only show up at Gayfield to secure a fifth-round spot.
According to Sheerin, though, those pundits can think all they want, as he goes about trying to mastermind what would be one of the most remarkable results in the club’s 134-year history.
”People were saying Celtic didn’t have their best team out in the first game but I don’t think that the team they played against us was inexperienced,” he told Courier Sport.
”I thought they only really had two players that haven’t played as much for them, the lad Chalmers and Ibrahim, and the rest of them had quite a bit of first-team experience.
”From our point of view, I thought it went well at Celtic Park and the players stuck to their task.
”The players stuck to what they were asked to do and they got their reward in the end, which was great.
”We know it’s not going to be easy in the replay because Celtic will want to win as many trophies as they can this season.
”People expect them to win and the bottom line is that they should be beating us but we’ll give it another go, that’s for sure.
”We won’t be gung-ho we did that against Rangers last year and we’ve learned our lesson.
”You’ve got to be disciplined in what you do, both as a team and as individuals, and I think every player did that in the first game.
”Everybody seems to be OK after the weekend and I’m sure they will be ready on Wednesday.”
With the game due to be broadcast nationwide on Sky Sports, Arbroath has this week been thrust into the limelight as rarely before and that can only do wonders for the club’s reputation.
Financially, though, given the relatively poor 15,000 turnout at Celtic Park for the first game, Doris’s equaliser to force a replay at Arbroath has given the club a second chance to maximise any income they can get from the tie.
”It’s obviously a massive game for the club and hopefully there will be a full house, which would be excellent for the club,” Sheerin commented.
”Certainly, the Celtic end will be full, and the way the tickets have been going at Gayfield I’m sure the home end will be pretty close as well.
”After drawing Celtic away from home, to still be in this cup after playing that game is an excellent achievement.
”It’s been a good money-spinner for the club and financially, given the current state of Scottish football, every little helps.
”There wasn’t the biggest crowd for the game at Parkhead, which was disappointing, so to get a replay and bring Celtic to Gayfield has turned out to be even more important for the club financially.”
Although frost is forecast, the Gayfield pitch is said to be holding up well, with ground staff able to get covers on the surface straight after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Stenhousemuir.