Neil Lennon is desperate to win the Betfred Cup for the first time as a manager because he doesn’t want to be the boss in charge when the Hoops’ winning streak ends.
The gaffer insists he won’t take Wednesday night’s home quarter-final tie against Partick Thistle lightly by resting key players.
Instead, Lennon is hell-bent on lifting the trophy he has so far failed to grasp as a manager.
With Celtic coming off the back of a historic treble Treble, he’s determined to keep the club’s winning run going.
Lennon – who won the League Cup twice as a player – said: “We know that if we win this game on Wednesday we’ll be one away from a final and that’s a huge incentive for the squad.
“It’s a game we want to win and a cup that the players want to defend as vigorously as possible.
“It’s the one I’ve not won yet as a manager. It was important for me when I came back last season to win the two trophies, the league and Scottish Cup.
“You don’t want to break the run. The treble Treble was so talked about and so vaunted by supporters so that was a monkey off my back.
“The relief at the end of the final was palpable but there was joy as well. I’d never felt like that in a long time.
“We’re not guaranteed to win this Betfred Cup but we’ve got home advantage against Thistle which is good.
“We’re up against a team that could shine in adversity and give us problems like Dunfermline did in the last round.
“So we have to be very wary of it. I’m not going to take this tournament lightly – we’ll have a strong
team out that’s capable of winning the game.”
