Petrov set to stay with Celtic

Stilian Petrov has indicated he will still be at Celtic Park next season after winning the Tennent’s Scottish Cup at Hampden Park yesterday.

The Bulgarian international cast doubt over his future on Thursday and there are a host of clubs waiting to make their move.

But following Neil Lennon’s hint he will sign a new contract, the 25-year-old has given Celtic supporters further optimism for next season after Martin O’Neill’s departure.

Petrov said: “I still have two years left on my contract so that suggests I could be here for a while.

“There has always been speculation about my future but I have two years to go and I will be reporting back for training in the summer.”

Petrov is then looking forward to working under new manager Gordon Strachan.

He added: “He has got a different way of doing things and training.

“I don’t know too much about him but I am looking forward to working with him and finding out more about him in the pre-season.”

Petrov was delighted to give O’Neill a winning send-off by beating Dundee United 1-0 but he is hoping that the Northern Irishman, who announced he is stepping down to spend more time with his sick wife Geraldine, will make a speedy return to management.

“We were really disappointed not to win the league last week but that’s it finished now and we have a new manager coming in now to take over,” Petrov added.

“We want to celebrate because we have been with this man for five years now and have had great success so we wish him all the best and we are happy to give him the trophy.

“Everybody should wish him and his wife all the best and hope that he comes back as quickly as possible in football and that everything with his family has a happy ending.

“It was an emotional day and the players are drained but it was just great to give the manager something big like this to finish with.

“A lot has happened this week and it’s been hard so to finish with this has put a smile on our faces again.

“We will always remember last week but at least we can now go away with something.”