After the most turbulent season in Celtic's modern history, possibly ever, the Hoops still ended up with a domestic double. It may well have been a treble had Wilfried Nancy not overseen December's League Cup final defeat against St Mirren. After snatching the league title on the final day, Martin O'Neill's team beat Dunfermline Athletic 3-1 in Saturday's Scottish Cup final; Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels and Kelechi Ịheanachọ the scorers.
Starters and club legends James Forrest and Callum McGregor both made Scottish Cup history at Hampden. The pair have now featured in eight Scottish Cup finals, equalling the all-time competition record, something no one has achieved for 46 years.
Players to feature in the most Scottish Cup finals
Players | Club(s) | First & last finals | Finals appeared in | SC trophies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bobby Lennox | Celtic | 1965 & 1980 | 8 | 9 |
Charles Campbell | Queen's Park | 1874 & 1886 | 8 | 8 |
Callum McGregor | Celtic | 2017 & 2026 | 8 | 7 |
James Forrest | Celtic | 2011 & 2026 | 8 | 9 |
Richard Gough | Dundee United & Rangers | 1985 & 1998 | 7 | 3 |
Ian Ferguson | St Mirren, Rangers & Dunfermline | 1987 & 1999 | 7 | 3 |
Neil McCann | Dundee, Hearts, Rangers & Falkirk | 1998 & 2009 | 6 | 5 |
Scott Brown | Celtic | 2011 & 2020 | 6 | 6 |
Paul McStay | Celtic | 1984 & 1995 | 6 | 4 |
Paul Lambert | St Mirren & Celtic | 1987 & 2003 | 6 | 3 |
Note: Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.
Only ten men have ever featured in six or more Scottish Cup finals. At the weekend, McGregor and Forrest became only the third and fourth players to appear in eight, the other two doing so a very long time ago. Celtic legend and Lisbon Lion Bobby Lennox appeared in eight between 1965 and 1980, but actually ended up with nine winners' medals. He did not feature in the 1966 and 1972 finals, while also losing the 1970 final against Aberdeen, despite scoring that day.
The only other man to appear in eight Scottish Cup finals did so over 140 years ago. Charles Campbell won all eight Scottish Cup finals he featured in for Queen's Park during the 1870s and '80s, although he did lose two FA Cup finals, the Spiders beaten by Blackburn Rovers at Wembley in 1894 and a year later. Thus, this should underline quite how rare this achievement is.
Celtic have only lost one Scottish Cup final since 2002, this against Aberdeen last season, hence why Forrest and McGregor, as well as Scott Brown, boast so many winners' medals, the latter enjoying a 100% record in finals. Forrest has only featured in eight finals but is a nine-times winner, an unused substitute in 2017 and injured against Hearts in December 2020.
McGregor meantime has never missed a final, scoring against Motherwell in 2018. but failing to convert his spot-kick during the shootout defeat at the hands of Aberdeen 12 months ago. Well, this time next year, the pair could become the first players to appear in nine Scottish Cup finals.
Forrest continues to be a peripheral figure, racking up only 1,453 minutes across all competitions, starting only nine times, albeit one of these did come against Dunfermline, coming in for Sebastian Tounekti on the wing. Whoever is in charge of Celtic, whether it be O'Neill or someone else, McGregor will continue to be a key figure, so this is a record he in particular is likely to surpass.
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