Carl Starfelt wants to take ‘pure happiness’ from cup win into Celtic run-in

Celtic defender Carl Starfelt believes their Viaplay Cup final success will give them long-lasting confidence that they can rise to the big occasion.

Ange Postecoglou’s side retained the trophy with a well-deserved 2-1 win over Rangers at Hampden on Sunday.

Celtic had lost their previous Hampden encounter against Rangers in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-finals but took control of this derby clash to maintain their unbeaten record in three games against their city rivals this season.

Starfelt made a strong start to the game both on and off the ball and feels the performance will give a long-term boost to his confidence.

The Sweden international told the Celtic View Podcast: “I had a pretty good feeling before the game and I think I got some good actions early in the game and then everything just kept floating on.

“It was a very fun game to play, obviously with the atmosphere and it was good weather as well, with a trophy at stake. These are the games you want to play and perform in. To do that and win the game was amazing.

“We spoke before the game among the team that these were the games you had to step up and perform in especially at a club like Celtic where it’s all about winning trophies.

“We had so many players that performed on the day and really stepped up. To be fair, I think everyone in the team played a really good game.

“That was obviously really important and good for the confidence moving forward that we know that, in the big games, people step up.”

The centre-back, whose team return to cinch Premiership duty against St Mirren on Sunday, added: “It was an amazing feeling, probably for myself one of the best feelings. It’s a derby and a trophy and my family was there, which was really really nice for me to enjoy the moment and afterwards as well.

“It was up there with the best wins I have had. It was huge. It’s hard to describe the feeling but pure happiness, I would say.”