Now for the really interesting part. Celtic’s completion of a domestic double was every bit as straightforward as Dunfermline feared it could be. Whether that achievement is sufficient for Martin O’Neill to be handed an extended stay as the Celtic manager should soon become clear. O’Neill has support, internally and externally, for his cause. Even at 74, he clearly fancies the job.

Dragging Celtic towards trophy success on back-to-back weekends shows he retains capability. The key, unknown and unanswered question is whether O’Neill’s recent body of work will prove sufficient for the Celtic hierarchy to back him in the longer term, as opposed to a younger coach such as Robbie Keane. O’Neill will hold talks with Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s main shareholder, in the coming days.

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I enjoyed this piece from Barry yesterday.

It’s all noise and bluster and guff, innit? I mean, not for the guys who missed our or were selected, but the outrage and hot takes really are a lot.

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OK, so it was all building to this, then. The slow‑burn plotlines. The room‑temperature action sequences. The winter afternoons on the sofa watching men wrestle unhappily, staring out of the window as the frigid wind tousles the clouds, wondering about the death of all things, and also why referees not only have to speak now but speak in the same awkward Yorkshire bingo‑caller voice.

• Police say arrests have been made after Scottish Cup tie

• ‘Officers and stewards faced with hostility and violence’

Police Scotland have condemned the behaviour of some supporters as “shameful” and said arrests have been made after clashes at the end of the Scottish Cup quarter-final between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox.

Chief Superintendent Kate Stephen said: “The behaviour of a number of supporters at the Scottish Cup quarter-final between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox today was shameful. It must be condemned by everyone involved in football and wider society.

Fans clashed on the Ibrox pitch after Celtic knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup on penalties. The visitors progressed to the semi-finals despite failing to register a single shot on target in 120 minutes of action.

Celtic secured a 4-2 shootout win after the goalless draw before dozens of their fans invaded the pitch. That sparked an invasion from hundreds of Rangers supporters and missiles were thrown as police and stewards moved to form a barrier.

Celtic won a penalty shootout 4-2 against Rangers after a goalless cup tie, before fans streamed on to the pitch

Simon McMahon, who has a Tangerines leaning, has emailed re. how open the Scottish Cup is at this stage:

“The last four of Falkirk, Dunfermline, St Mirren or Partick, Celtic or Rangers, makes Dundee United’s defeat at the Falkirk Stadium on Friday night all the more galling. A genuine chance to win the Scottish Cup for only the third time squandered to a team who were in Scottish League One two years ago. The Tangerines never really recovered from a dreadful start, two down after 20 minutes, though we still had chances to at least take it to extra time. Still, I’m over it now. Not over it. Hoping for a mountain of red cards goals at Ibrox.”

Ah, that footballing what-ifs! I know them well, Simon, and feel your pain.

• Tavernier hits hat-trick as hosts avoid repeat upset

• Celtic leave it late to deny Dundee shock victory

James Tavernier scored a first-half hat-trick as Rangers thrashed Queen’s Park 8-0, avenging in style their Scottish Cup humiliation last season.

Queen’s Park famously beat their illustrious neighbours 1-0 at Ibrox in a fifth-round tie last year, but they suffered badly on their return against a Rangers side that has changed dramatically in the past 12 months. The Championship side only got through after Stranraer were expelled for fielding an ineligible player in the previous round.

IBojan Miovski helped himself to a hat-trick in Rangers’ commanding 5-0 Scottish Cup win over Annan Athletic as the new signing Andreas Skov Olsen checked in at Ibrox.

The North Macedonia striker, one of nine changes to Danny Rohl’s side, fired Rangers into the lead in the 12th minute of the fourth-round tie against the League Twovisitors before heading in a second just after the half-hour mark.