Ross Tokely has twice helped Caley Thistle beat Celtic in the Scottish Cup – and he’d love to wind back the clock for a third shot at the Hoops in Saturday’s final.
The former ICT defender racked up a 16-year career and almost 600 games for the Highlanders, which included seven seasons in the top-flight.
The 44-year-old, who is still starring for Nairn County in the Highland League, was part of Steve ‘Pele’ Paterson’s team which “went ballistic” to win 3-1 against John Barnes’ Celtic in February 2000.
Three years later, John Robertson’s Highlanders knocked Martin O’Neill’s UEFA Cup final-bound aces out of the Scottish Cup – four days after the Hoops had won at Anfield.
Tokely, Stuart Golabek, Bobby Mann, Dennis Wyness and Charlie Christie played in both triumphs against Celtic.
And in 2015, Caley Thistle defeated Celtic in the cup again, this time 3-2 after extra-time in a Hampden semi-final before John Hughes’ heroes went on to lift the famous silverware by beating Falkirk 2-1 in the final.
Inverness, whose Championship season ended in sixth spot when they lost to Ayr United on May 5, are gearing up for a fresh crack at beating Celtic and this could be their toughest test.
Ange Postecoglou’s Celts have won back-to-back League Cups and Premiership titles and they want to make it a treble by beating unfancied Inverness.
ICT players can rise to the challenge
Tokely reckons Dodds’ players should be relishing the chance to go toe-to-toe with the country’s best side.
He said: “Celtic are the heavy favourites and they’ve had such a good season once more.
“Ange Postecoglou has done a wonderful job and you must take your hat off to him.
“I would love to roll back the years and be a Caley Thistle player getting ready for this one. It always delighted me to test myself and win these games against Celtic.
“This is one to look forward to. You can dust off the disappointment of the play-offs from the Championship and really focus on the game and you just never know.
“While you’re a bit nervous, because you’re playing against the best, you want to test yourselves.
“Guys like Cammy Harper and Scott Allardice, who are still quite young in their careers, will want to test themselves.
“The pressure is all on Celtic – they’re going for the treble. Inverness just need to ensure they don’t let themselves down.”
It will be backs-to-the-wall in final
Inverness are still in dreamland after reaching the final. They were knocked out by their Championship rivals Queen’s Park in a 2-0 defeat in January.
However, they were granted a second chance when the Spiders were expelled for fielding an ineligible player in the Highland tie.
Dodds’ side have knocked out two top-table teams and League One Falkirk to earn the right to face the Hoops and Tokely insists no one in an Inverness shirt can afford on off-day as the nation looks on.
He said: “Celtic are firm favourites, but Inverness can go there and give it their all. They know, should they pull it off, the carrot of qualifying for European competition is there for them.
“They have deservedly beaten two Premiership clubs in Livingston and Kilmarnock, as well as Falkirk, to get to the final, so they deserve to be here, despite what happened with the Queen’s Park game.
“When you look back at our two games against Celtic, every one of us played to our full potential and that’s what must happen on June 3.
“We had to be at our best, because at times it was backs against the wall. You can’t play Celtic with five or six turning up – you need the whole team and squad to be at their very best.
“Yes, you always need a bit of luck too, but as a player I always looked forward to these games, against the very top clubs.”
‘We played our game’ against Hoops
Tokely insists not allowing their energetic opponents to settle is a good starting point when taking on the Scottish champions as he recalled how they played against Celtic.
He added: “I’m proud of a lot of things I achieved in my career and beating Celtic twice in the Scottish Cup was fantastic.
“When you look at the quality of players we played against in those games, it was very high.
“The first game was at Celtic Park and we played really well. I have watched it back many times and we have belief in our ability.
“We respected Celtic, of course, but on the pitch that went out of the window. We played our game, unsettled and frustrated them.
“In the second game, Celtic had the majority of the ball and that’s what will probably happen in this final.
“In that 2003 match, Celtic had just beaten Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield on Thursday (in the UEFA Cup) and came back, and we beat them on Sunday.
“However, opportunities still arise in games and Inverness have to make sure they take them when they come.
“They need to work their socks off and frustrate Celtic. The longer they can stay in the game and, if they can keep things tight at the back, then they have a chance.
“It a game for the players to grasp and look forward to. There’s no point heading to Hampden to just turn up.
“They need to give Celtic a game, be in their faces and start with a high tempo and see what happens.”
🏆 The Final of the 2023 Men's Scottish Cup will kick-off at 5.30pm on Saturday, 3 June.#ScottishCup
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) May 3, 2023
Players face an anxious cup final wait
The final will kick off at 5.30pm as broadcasters wanted to avoid a clash with the Manchester derby in the FA Cup final, which starts at 3pm.
Tokely says the later kick-off will not go down well with the players, who will be eager to get on the park.
He said: “Neither club is happy with a 5.30pm start. It’s not great, especially for the Inverness fans, but for the players as well it’s not ideal.
“It’s a whole day of waiting for the game. Fans are important, of course, but the SFA don’t consider the players as well. The nerves will build up as the hours go by.
“Maybe they should have looked more at moving it to Sunday at 3pm, I don’t know. TV dictates and it’s disappointing, because normally the Scottish Cup is Saturday at 3pm.”
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