Paulo Bernardo has told Rangers to pipe down with their Premier Sports Cup protests because Celtic deserved to lift the trophy.
The Hoops ace shrugged off the controversy that’s raged on in the wake of Sunday’s epic encounter at Hampden. Brendan Rodgers’s men secured the cup after a dramatic penalty shoot out on the back of six-goal thriller over 90 minutes and extra-time.
But Ibrox chiefs have raged at the flashpoint at Hampden when Vaclav Cerny was tugged back by Liam Scales right on the edge of the box – with several ex-officials claiming the Light Blues should have been awarded a penalty – and new Gers CEO Patrick Stewart has already written to the SFA demanding an explanation.
Bernardo insisted Rangers were not robbed – because he’s convinced Celts were worthy winners. He said: “We don’t focus on that decision. We just move forward now.
“We won the trophy after a very good game and that’s all we think about. It was a difficult game on Sunday.
“Both teams played well and it was a good game for supporters to watch. But we had almost 70 per cent of the ball and I think we deserved to win the cup.
“In the final moments, we had the quality to win the game and the players did so well in the shootout. When it came to the big pressure moments, we delivered. Our objective was to win the trophy and we managed to do that.”
Bernardo savoured the cup success but he insisted the huge character shown at Hampden to secure the trophy with drive on the Hoops in their quest for a clean sweep this season. The Parkhead men are in a commanding position in the Premiership as they get back to business against Dundee United at Tannadice on Sunday.
Bernardo insisted no one at the club will take their foot off the gas. The Portugal Under-21 skipper – speaking at Celtic FC Foundation’s Christmas party – said: “Our mentality is to win every game and we did it again.
“All we wanted was to lift that trophy and it felt so good for us as a team and a club. The mentality is so strong within the squad.
“No matter what, we know that we have to find a way to win. We won the League Cup and now we move on to the next one.
“It was important to win on Sunday and we celebrated – but now we move on. We want to win all the trophies, of course, but we need to take it step by step and not look too far ahead.”
Bernardo was speaking at the Celtic FC Foundation’s Christmas party for children from East End schools. For information and to donate to the Foundation’s Christmas Appeal, go to https://charity.celticfc.com