Danny urges his Buddies to take a leaf out of Bradford's book
Jan 25 2013
by Paul Behan, Paisley Daily Express
St Mirren manager Danny Lennon has urged his players to draw inspiration from English shock troops Bradford City ahead of this weekend’s League Cup semi-final mission at Hampden.
Most pundits are giving the Buddies next to no chance of pulling off a surprise result against Celtic on Sunday.
However, Lennon insists fansonly have to look at what happened in Birmingham earlier this week – when League Two minnows Bantams dumped Premiership giants Aston Villa out of England’s Capital One Cup – to see that anything can happen in knockout competitions.
He told Express Sports: “Many people think it would be a miracle if St Mirren were to beat Celtic but, in football, miracles do happen.
“You just have to look at Chelsea last season, when they beat Barcelona and Bayern Munich to win the Champions League.
“Kilmarnock beat Celtic in the final of this tournament last season and Bradford have reached the final of the Capital One Cup by beating Aston Villa, so I am a big believer in miracles.”
This will be the first time in Lennon’s managerial career that he has led out a team in a national cup semi-final at Hampden.
And he admits he’ll be bursting with pride when the moment arrives.
Lennon said: “I’m looking forward to it. It will be a proud moment in my young managerial career and I hope there will be many more to come.
“We will certainly not be going there just to enjoy the occasion. We will be going to make it an occasion. We have to go there with belief, bravery and confidence if we are going to progress.
“Those are the key ingredients that Celtic used to beat Barcelona and that is what we need as well.”
If Saints are to make it through to the final, they will need to bring a halt to a shocking run of form against Celtic that has seen them lose their last eight matches with the Hoops, conceding 22 goals and scoring none in the process.
And Lennon is hoping past results will have no bearing on Sunday’s outcome.
He added: “This is why we fall in love with football – to play in games like this and to win trophies, regardless of which level you are at. We are all dreamers and there will be a lot of players taking to the field on Sunday trying to fulfil that dream.”
● Make sure you get tomorrow’s Paisley Daily Express for our big match preview and a special colour pull-out ahead of the Hampden showdown
