MOTHERWELL midfielder Andy Rose is delighted that he and his team-mates will get one last crack at Celtic this season after feeling hard done by in their previous encounters with the champions this term.
The circumstances surrounding their Betfred Cup final defeat in particular, as well as two draws at Fir Park when the Steelmen felt decision went against them, have left a bitter taste in Motherwell mouths.
And Rose is desperate to set the record straight by stunning Celtic at Hampden to lift the Scottish Cup.
“A few of us got together and watched the other semi-final on Sunday which was great fun,” Rose said.
“There’s lots of highs and lows in football, so you have to enjoy the highs as much as possible, without getting carried away of course, but we watched the other semi-final together and we enjoyed that.
“We got to talk about what it means to face Celtic one more time this season, and how exciting that prospect is. Either way, it was going to be a difficult final against one of the top two clubs in Scotland, but it’s really exciting to be able to have one more crack at them.
“We’ve played them a few times this season and we got a bit unfortunate on a couple of occasions.
“The fact that we didn’t make it into the top six to get one more crack at them in the league was disappointing, but this makes up for it to a certain extent.
“We’ll be really looking forward to it when that day comes, but obviously right now we have got some really big league games ahead.”
While Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson didn’t mind his players letting their hair down briefly after their Hampden heroics against Aberdeen last weekend, Rose revealed that they were brought down with a bump when they returned to training on Tuesday.
But he insisted that the Fir Park players were relishing the opportunity to get back to work ahead of the slightly less glamorous prospect of a match against Ross County in Dingwall this afternoon.
“It’s been a great week, but a really demanding week,” he said.
“All the boys were so excited to get back into training after such a great performance and a great win, but we were brought down to earth really quickly with two really tough training sessions.
“To get to where we want to go as a team, you have to turn in that sort of performance every week, and that starts in training.”
Rose was delighted to see four teammates sign new contracts at the club last week, and he revealed that talks have taken place over his own future, with his deal expiring at the end of the season.
“All four of those guys have been fantastic and done an awful lot for the football club,” he said.
“We’re a really close-knit group of players, so we’re all really happy and excited for those guys.
“Certainly, we’ve had some discussions and hopefully those will go on. I’m sure all of that stuff will take care of itself. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, it’s been a fantastic season with lots to look forward to.”
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