Past means nothing to Petrov in Cup showdown

Celtic star Stilian Petrov claims their 8-1 drubbing of Dunfermline has been wiped from their memory.

The runaway Bank of Scotland Premier League leaders are favourites to win the CIS Insurance Cup on Sunday having emphatically brushed their opponents aside last month.

But the Bulgarian international insists his team-mates will not be thinking about past glory when the sides meet at Hampden Park this weekend.

“There is always pressure going into a cup final,” said Petrov. “A lot of people have been comparing this game to the 8-1 game but this will be completely different.

“They will fight to win the cup and so will we. We will know we’ll have to work as hard as ever to win.

“We forgot this game a long time ago and we will play the way we think will win.

“It doesn’t matter that we played four weeks ago and won comfortably. If they have a chance they will punish us. If we have a chance then we will have to take it.”

The 26-year-old expects a much tighter affair and would gladly settle for a one-goal victory at the national stadium.

“One-nil would be enough for us,” said Petrov.

“The cup is the most important thing. It’s a cup final and we will try to win it no matter how many goals we score.”

Petrov could be asked to play up front again in the absence of the suspended John Hartson.

The midfielder knows now the pressure the Welshman is constantly under to win the ball and he admits he would rather stay in the centre of the park.

“Sometimes you enjoy it and sometimes you don’t,” said Petrov.

“When we play a long ball me and Maciej (Zurawski) can’t win everything.

“I know how John Hartson feels now being under pressure all the time.

“It’s harder when you play up front because you need to concentrate more and score goals.

“Only the manager can answer this question. He has been trying different things this week and we will see just before the game how we are going to play.

“But I enjoy playing up front although I don’t like the long balls, I can’t jump that high.

“It’s a big responsibility out there in the attack. There is more pressure, although I thought it was much easier. It’s not.”

McManus believes Celtic can silence Dunfermline if they can keep former Hoops striker Mark Burchill quiet.

The defender added: “He is a big threat. He’s fast, he’s a good lad and has a good pedigree for scoring goals so we will need to watch him.

“We respect them but if we are doing our jobs right and keep Mark quiet we will do all right.”