Ryan Christie confesses Celtic and Inverness split loyalty as he reveals his Scottish Cup final role
Punditry will give Christie an easy way to watch Saturday's cup final from a neutral perspective.
Ryan Christie has revealed TV duties have solved a major Scottish Cup final headache.
The former Inverness and Celtic star admitted he was in a quandary as he didn’t know what side to sit on at Hampden this weekend. But he can sit firmly on the fence because he is on television duty summarising for BBC. Christie said: “I am looking forward to the final. The good thing is that I am doing the television so that will be good. It will be good and I am looking forward to it. I was desperate to go to the game but I was thinking what side do I go to? So this is perfect for me, I am quite happy.”
Christie knows he will be on to a winner, whoever lifts the trophy. He said: “It is a strange one for Inverness not having a game for so long. I was desperate for them to make the play-offs. They were unlucky to miss out on the last day.
"It is going to be hard because Celtic are so dominant just now. I am right on the fence with this final.”
Ryan’s dad, Charlie, was part of the Caley Thistle who first shocked John Barnes’s side in 2000. However, Christie junior also had his own scalp in 2015 and has joked his was better!
The 28-year-old said: “My dad was buzzing for me to get to the cup final. I always joke with him, it is all well and good putting out Celtic but it doesn’t really matter if you get battered in the next round. I joked we went on and won it. It is funny we have both done it and played for Celtic as well.”
Christie has two Scottish Cup winners’ medals with both finalists and he was part of the Hoops squad who won it in 2019 but missed out through a nasty facial injury. His first came in 2015 when John Hughes’ Caley Thistle lifted the trophy for the first time and will look to repeat that feat by causing another major Hampden upset on Saturday.
Christie then went on to help Celtic lift the trophy and seal their own treble, under Neil Lennon in 2020. It is a feat that Postecoglou’s side want to repeat this weekend. The Scotland star said: “I have some great Scottish Cup memories. Winning it with Inverness was amazing because I never thought in a million years that would happen.
“The Celtic ones were a different feeling. There was a pressure because you are expected to win trophies. It will be the same for the Celtic boys on Saturday. They have won the league and the League Cup and they will want to finish the season in style with the Treble.
“It will be a big thing for Ange Postecoglou and the Celtic players. The Inverness boys will go in as underdogs and nobody will be expecting them to win, apart from the boys in the Caley Thistle dressing room.”
READ NEXT