Celtic claimed the Scottish Cup on Saturday, defeating Dunfermline Athletic at Hampden Park to complete a domestic double and close out the 2025/26 season with silverware.
Captain Callum McGregor lifted the Scottish Gas Men’s Scottish Cup trophy at Barclays Hampden in Glasgow, cementing what many supporters are calling a landmark moment in the club’s recent history.
The victory marks the end of Martin O’Neill’s tenure at the club, with the manager delivering back-to-back doubles across his final two seasons in charge at Celtic Park.
Celtic secured a double last season and have now repeated the feat, raising questions about who, if anyone, can challenge the Glasgow club for domestic dominance heading into next season.
Several key players are expected to depart in the summer, with the squad likely to undergo significant reconstruction before the new campaign gets underway in the coming months.
Kelechi Iheanacho played a notable role throughout the season, exceeding expectations after his arrival, while Daizen Maeda re-established himself as the most prolific attacker in Scottish football.
Arne Engels also emerged as a key contributor during the final stages of the campaign, adding to a pattern of players stepping up when the stakes were highest for Celtic.
Dunfermline Athletic, competing in the cup final against the Glasgow giants, were the subject of neutral sympathy following Hearts’ own difficult season, according to comments aired on BBC Scotland.
Celtic’s triumph represents another chapter in a decade-long run of domestic success that the club’s supporters argue has reshaped the balance of power in Scottish football entirely.
O’Neill departs having left a clear mark on the club, with the fanbase expressing confidence that Celtic’s structure and history will produce another manager capable of sustaining that level of achievement.
The club pointed to its self-sufficient model, with no billionaire ownership or significant external debt, as the foundation underpinning consistent on-pitch success over many years of competition.
Celtic’s supporters celebrated at Hampden as players received their medals and paraded the trophy around the pitch, bringing a long and demanding season to a satisfying close.
The Scottish Cup win means Celtic finished the season without the treble, having not claimed the League Cup, a detail that supporters acknowledged even amid the wider celebrations on the day.
Despite the impending squad changes, the mood within the club remained optimistic, with history suggesting that new players will rise to fill the roles vacated by departing figures in time.
The 2025/26 season now belongs to the history books, and Celtic’s players, manager, and supporters will look back on it as a period of hard-won and well-earned success.
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