Motherwell’s Chris Cadden says he doesn’t buy into the hype over Celtic ahead of cup final clash

CHRIS CADDEN feels Celtic have been built up too much and is confident Motherwell can be the team to knock them down.

Celtic are looking to extend their unbeaten domestic run to 65 matches in Sunday’s Betfred Cup final, but Motherwell wing-back Cadden is not overawed.

The Lanarkshire side comfortably beat Aberdeen, who finished second behind Celtic in every competition last season, in a 3-0 quarter-final win before securing their first cup win over a Rangers team for 56 years in the last four.

So Cadden is not going to pay too much respect to the champions ahead of the Hampden clash.

“I don’t know why everybody is building Celtic up to be unbelievable,” he said. “They are a good team, but it’s 11 men against 11 men at the end of the day. The game’s not played on paper, it’s played on the park. We will go out there with confidence to beat them.

“I think if we can go out and do what we did in the last few rounds against Aberdeen and Rangers, there’s no reason why we can’t beat them. Someone has got to beat them, so why not us?

“If you want to win the thing then you have got to beat everybody, but if we go on and win it, then I think the achievement would be unbelievable. To beat Aberdeen, Rangers and Celtic, the three top seeds, would be a brilliant achievement.”

Cadden was brought up in Motherwell so he knows exactly what a first cup win since 1991 would mean for the town.

“It’s massive, being a local boy as well,” the 21-year-old said. “When I was growing up through the Motherwell youth ranks, my dream was to play one game with Motherwell. But to go out and maybe get a cup with them is beyond my wildest dreams. I will try and grasp it with both hands and make the dream come true.

“The fans have been brilliant with me, everywhere I go they have been talking away with me, and you can just tell they are really up for it. There’s a good feeling about the town, a real buzz and a real atmosphere, and that’s what a football team can bring.

“The fans were unbelievable in the semi-final, the 7,000 happiest people I have ever seen in my life. Hopefully it’s the same again in the final.”