Celtic manager Grant Scott believes that the Scottish Cup win can be pivotal for the Parkhead side as they look to challenge for the SWPL title next season.
The league campaign has been a write off for Celtic after they finished fifth with a poor post-split run fuelling the slip down the table.
That frustration is not as biting as it might have been given yesterday’s Hampden triumph and the fact they beat all four teams who are above them to win the trophy is something that Scott wants his side to take into next season.
“These are special moments when you celebrate with your staff and your players and I am delighted for this team,” said Scott.
“We have been off it in the league. knowing we've beaten the four teams above us in the league to win this trophy tells you there is real character about this team and hopefully now there's belief.
“At times, we have at times questioned each other as a group, but I see the players everyday and I don't think there's a lack of belief. We just needed to show it. But we showed it yesterday and I am delighted for everyone involved.
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“Historically teams that play well in cup competitions and win have something about them. That's what I want to instil in the players and give them energy and belief to do these things against any team at any point. It's a nice marker to show we can do it.”
Scott tweaked the way Celtic lined up against Rangers at Hampden with Amy Gallacher pushed up while Saoirse Noonan, who set up the opener, dropped into a deeper midfield role.
“Anyone who saw the last few performances against Rangers will know that was a completely different performance level from what we'd achieved before,” he said.
“And we were disappointed with those performances, there's no getting away from it. But one of the things we asked them to do this week was get closer to their opponent, a little more dogged, commit the challenge - in the nicest possible way, be more difficult to break down and I thought we did that.
“We changed things a bit on the back of those defeats because we felt as though we had to do something different. The players deserve a lot of credit because they worked their socks off.”
Emma Lawton’s dismissal might have tipped the game in Rangers’ favour although Scott had no real issues with the decision to send the Scotland internationalist off after she tugged Calliste Brookshire.
“My immediate thought was that it was probably two bookings,” he said. “The referee gave herself a bit of time before giving the second yellow, and it is a debate if in that moment she could have given the player a ticking off and say ‘you've just had a booking two minutes earlier, next one be careful.’
“But I don't think I can argue with it. She didn't rush to her pocket though, I think she assessed it pretty well. No complaints. From a game perspective, you know you're up against it. We got deeper on the pitch than I would have liked. But you know at that point you're going to need to dig in further and show character, resilience and quality in defence and I thought we did all that.
“You have to ride your luck at times. But in the main I thought we showed the right level of fight that I wanted from my team and it's all credit to the players.”
