It’s not often we see the away end at Celtic Park packed out these days but Falkirk will be bringing a large support with them for the Scottish League Cup quarter-final.
Falkirk have been a formidable force under manager John McGlynn, winning Scottish League One as unbeaten champions last season.
With five wins from five league games at the start of this term, they’ve shown no problems stepping up a level.
It’s easy to understand why their fans are so motivated to back them against the Bhoys, despite the massive gulf between the two teams on paper.
Falkirk sell out 2,500 allocation for Celtic Park
The Championship side confirmed last month they had received the maximum allocation that Celtic could offer of 2,500 briefs and they promptly sold that out.
It means they’ll bring one of the biggest away supports of the season to Glasgow, which will be a boost to their players, out to cause a big cup upset.
With a place at Hampden on the line, Celtic can’t take anything for granted even though the occasion could be perceived as a comedown from Wednesday night’s Champions League dream.
Brendan Rodgers stresses the importance of Falkirk cup tie
Brendan Rodgers is certainly fully focused on the task ahead. He isn’t taking his eye off the ball as he targets a return to winning this trophy after last season’s blip against Kilmarnock.
In a Friday media conference, he said: “The competition is very important to me. It was the first one that I won as Celtic manager, so it means everything to me, so we’ll be going all out on Sunday to get to the semi-final.
“We have to win three games to win the competition. I always think it’s about getting to Hampden and then we assess it from there. Hampden is a place I’ve always loved with the size of the pitch and the support that we take there.
“We have a really important job at the weekend that we have to get done and our objective is to fight for every domestic trophy.
Celtic reunion for Rodgers and McGlynn
The Falkirk boss worked at Celtic as a coach during Rodgers’ first reign at the club and the manager is looking forward to the reunion.
He continued: “I have a lot of time for John. We’ve exchanged messages and I’m really looking forward to seeing him. I’m really proud of him and what he’s done in his career. He’s done brilliantly and he’s a really good guy.
“When I first came in here, we brought in a structure, a way of working and a mentality that he was a part of. John always went the extra mile for me. He knew there was a big demand and he was a real team player.
“What he’s produced in the two jobs he’s had since he left here has been brilliant. The style of football and the way he looks to play have been very impressive.”
Celtic and Falkirk last met in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup back in 2021 with the Bhoys winning 3-0 thanks to goals from Ryan Christie, James Forrest and Moi Elyounoussi.
