Celtic delight at titanic treble

Tom Boyd and Paul Lambert lift the Scottish Cup

Celtic's treble-winning heroes could barely conceal their elation after the 3-0 win over Hibs in the Scottish Cup final.

Celtic supporters' celebrations began in the Hampden sunshine as soon as Henrik Larsson's second goal put the game well beyond Hibs.

The players and management joined in as the final whistle sounded, with the words "Celtic legends" instantly attached to the names of all involved.

Manager Martin O'Neill can consider himself one of the most deserving of that accolade, but he paid tribute to the men on the park who delivered the treble.

"To finish it off today at Hampden is tremendous. It's been a great season," said a delighted O'Neill.

"The players have done it again, they showed no sign of tiredness after a long season.

"I was really pleased with the first goal - Jackie McNamara took it brilliantly - great ball from Didier Agathe, but he still had to finish it.

"The second goal just after half-time settled everything."

Henrik Larsson shows his delight

Henrik Larsson surprised no-one with his two goals to take his season's tally to 53 and even the super-cool Swede appeared excited at full-time.

"Everybody's been on about the treble and now we've done it, it's a great feeling," he said.

"This was the only competition I hadn't won in Scotland but we managed to do it today and I'm very pleased.

"The second goal gave us a bit more breathing space after they had put a bit of pressure on us.

"That allowed us to drop back a bit and pick them off and then we got the penalty and that finished it."

Club captain Tom Boyd's testimonial season could not have gone any better and he climbed the Hampden steps to lift the trophy along with Paul Lambert.

"It's been a fantastic season, everyone's played their part," said the veteran defender.

Neil Lennon laps up the fans' applause

Asked what exactly O'Neill had done to transform the club in such a short space of time, Boyd added: "A lot of players have got their confidence back and we've brought in quality players."

Jackie McNamara proved to be an unlikely hero when he came off the bench to break the deadlock before going on to have an impressive game in midfield.

"I was just delighted to be involved and it was a great feeling to score in the cup final," admitted the Scotland internationalist.

Martin O'Neill's prodigy Neil Lennon has had an amazing time since his arrival at Celtic Park and he certainly savoured the occasion.

"It's a great feeling. I though we were superb on the day and we've surpassed everything that was expected of us," said the former Leicester star.

"The supporters have been fantastic and we've given them something back now," he added.