Billy Mckay accepts Caley Thistle will have to beat one of the vintage Celtic sides to get their hands on the Scottish Cup this Saturday.
Inverness, who finished sixth in the Championship this season after a last-day 2-1 defeat against Ayr United, will be going for glory against Ange Postecoglou’s treble-chasing champions.
In many people’s eyes, this is a mismatch of epic proportions and a victory for ICT would be seen as an even bigger upset than West of Scotland League minnows Darvel beating Aberdeen in January because of what’s at stake in this final.
Australian head coach Postecoglou has been hailed for the way his Hoops attack with verve, energy and style as the club go for a new world-record eighth domestic clean sweep.
ICT won the silverware under John Hughes in 2015 and knocked out Celtic at Hampden in the semis before beating Falkirk in the final.
League champions and League Cup winners Celtic wrapped up the title recently with a 2-0 win against Hearts, but have since slipped to 3-0 and 4-2 losses against runners-up Rangers and Hibs, adding to their only previous domestic defeat this season, which came against St Mirren in September.
Style of Celtic impresses ace Mckay
Mckay, with 19 goals to his name this term, believes the current Celtic team are right up there with Brendan Rodgers’ winners, who earned a treble without losing a game in Scotland in 2016/17.
He said: “It’s a tough one to judge. They definitely play a different style of football than some of the previous Celtic teams I’ve faced.
“You look at the team that went unbeaten a few years ago as well. It’s hard to look past that. But you look at the way this current team plays just now.
“I watched them against Real Madrid earlier in the season in the Champions League – and for 45 minutes they blew Madrid away (before losing 3-0).
“So we know what they’re capable of. They are right up there as one of the best teams Celtic have had.”
Mckay watched final at pal’s wedding
When Inverness won the 2015 Scottish Cup final, Mckay had just moved on to English Championship side Wigan Athletic, bossed by current Ross County manager Malky Mackay.
Mckay was best man to his friend Peter, but dived outside to capture some of the drama unfolding at Hampden.
He said: ‘The wedding was in a little town called Gretton.
“Me and my dad were out in the car park watching a bit of the game on our phone.
“I remember when Carl Tremarco got sent off. We thought it was going to be a tough afternoon from there.
“But the lads did great to dig in and show a lot of character. That’s what we’re all about at this football club.
“I was obviously cheering on the boys. I had spent a lot of time in that dressing room with them.
“The boys in that team were all my mates and I keep in touch with most of them. It was a special day for them.”
Team glory ahead of personal goals
The red-hot forward will match club-record scorer Dennis Wyness’ tally of 101 if he scores just once against the Hoops, having bagged a brace in the 3-0 semi win against Falkirk to reach the century.
With such a massive prize at stake, with European group stage football included, Mckay would sacrifice personal glory for such a team achievement.
He said: “Yeah, one would be good – two would be even better.
“It doesn’t matter who scores. The aim is to go there to Hampden and win the game. It would be great if I could repeat what I did in the semi-final. But we’ll just be trying to win the game at all costs.
“In a final, it doesn’t matter how you do it. You just need to win the game.”
Could Caley Jags be history-makers?
Caley Thistle, who have beaten Celtic in 2000, 2003 and 2015, were reinstated into the Scottish Cup after a 2-0 fourth round defeat by Queen’s Park.
The Spiders were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player and ICT took full advantage, knocking out Premiership duo Livingston and Kilmarnock before sweeping to a 3-0 win against Falkirk in the semis.
Mckay senses there could be magic in the air as it has all fallen into place for Inverness and seemingly heading out of the cup.
He said: “I’ve said to the lads – we could be the first team to get knocked out, but still go on to win it.
“We are only one game away, albeit we know it’s going to be a really hard task against Celtic.
“It’s 11 versus 11 on the day. We just need to make sure we’re at our best to give ourselves a chance.
“Cup upsets happen every year. Why can’t this be another one? As a club, Inverness have beaten Celtic before in a semi-final at Hampden.
“I’ve played before in other games where we’ve beaten them as well. I scored a winner against them years ago.
“I’ve had a few results against Celtic over the years both with Inverness and Ross County.
“Nobody is unbeatable. But we know everything will have to go right for us.”
Mckay helped KO Liverpool from cup
Adding to the fact no team can take victory as a certainty, Mckay has history on a personal level from his early years down south.
He said: “I played for (League Two club) Northampton and scored at Anfield when we beat Liverpool in the League Cup in 2010.
“They rested the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. But they still had the likes of Daniel Agger, Lucas and Ryan Babel in the team at that time.
“Roy Hodgson was the manager, but I don’t think he lasted too long (after that).
“We drew 2-2 and we eventually beat them on penalties. Not many people gave us much of a chance in that game. Why can’t we go and do it on Saturday?”
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