The Dons have been allocated 19,000 tickets for their Hampden meeting with Celtic while Hearts will say they will receive an identical initial allocation of 21,000 to their opponents, Rangers.
Both of the last-four underdogs had sought a 50-50 split but the PA news agency understands Aberdeen declined the deal Hearts accepted, to underwrite the cost of any unsold tickets.
The Scottish Football Association announced that the Dons would face Celtic at 12.30pm on April 20 with Hearts playing Rangers at 3pm the following day.
A statement from Aberdeen read: “The club requested the opportunity to sell up to 50 per cent of the tickets, with any unsold tickets by an agreed date being allocated to our opponents.
“Disappointingly, this has once again been declined based primarily on historical ticket sales at this stage of the competition.
“As a result, the Aberdeen allocation for this match will be for up to 19,000 tickets, almost identical to the Viaplay Cup final in December, split between the South Stand and West Stand, depending on demand.”
Aberdeen quickly sold an initial 17,000 tickets for their Hampden clash with Rangers in December before problems emerged over a second batch of 2,500 tickets as fans complained over their loyalty points not being taken into account, while the club recalled tickets apparently sold to Light Blues fans.
They sold about 13,000 tickets for the League Cup semi-finals in each of the past two seasons, figures which were taken into account during this process.
Hearts were “delighted” to share their news with supporters.
A statement read: “The club put forward a proposal to secure an equal share of tickets, guaranteeing Hearts supporters the opportunity to purchase seats in Hampden’s North Stand.
“We had to make an extremely strong case for our argument, given the size of our opponents’ fanbase and historic semi-final ticket sales.
“We are, therefore, extremely pleased to confirm that our proposition was accepted, and both Hearts and Rangers will be given an initial 21k allocation of tickets to sell to our respective supporters.
“We would like to thank the Scottish FA for their assistance in this process.
“This gives us the best opportunity to have Steven Naismith and our players walk out onto the Hampden pitch to a sea of maroon, spread out equally and fairly across the national stadium.
“The door has now been opened for as many Hearts fans as possible to attend and, hopefully, have a special day out.
“One condition of this agreement is that the club covers the cost of any unsold tickets from our allocation so it is in all of our interests to sell out and give the team the level of backing that Hearts fans are famous for.”
Head coach Naismith welcomed the news.
“In the semi-final of the biggest cup competition in the country when you’ve got two of the biggest clubs in the country, it really should be (50/50),” he said. “It should be a great atmosphere to be involved in.”
The SFA declined to comment.
Both clubs sought a 50-50 split for their respective matches but only Hearts had their request granted.
The Edinburgh club say they have been allocated an identical initial share to Rangers of 21,000 seats in the 50,000-capacity national stadium.
The Dons will face Celtic at 12.30pm on April 20 with Hearts facing Rangers at 3pm the following day.
A statement from Aberdeen read: “The club requested the opportunity to sell up to 50 per cent of the tickets, with any unsold tickets by an agreed date being allocated to our opponents.
“Disappointingly, this has once again been declined based primarily on historical ticket sales at this stage of the competition.
“As a result, the Aberdeen allocation for this match will be for up to 19,000 tickets, almost identical to the Viaplay Cup final in December, split between the South Stand and West Stand, depending on demand.”
Hearts were “delighted” to share their news with supporters.
A statement read: “The club put forward a proposal to secure an equal share of tickets, guaranteeing Hearts supporters the opportunity to purchase seats in Hampden’s North Stand.
“We had to make an extremely strong case for our argument, given the size of our opponents’ fanbase and historic semi-final ticket sales.
“We are, therefore, extremely pleased to confirm that our proposition was accepted, and both Hearts and Rangers will be given an initial 21k allocation of tickets to sell to our respective supporters.
“We would like to thank the Scottish FA for their assistance in this process.
“This gives us the best opportunity to have Steven Naismith and our players walk out onto the Hampden pitch to a sea of maroon, spread out equally and fairly across the national stadium.
“The door has now been opened for as many Hearts fans as possible to attend and, hopefully, have a special day out.
“One condition of this agreement is that the club covers the cost of any unsold tickets from our allocation so it is in all of our interests to sell out and give the team the level of backing that Hearts fans are famous for.”
Head coach Naismith welcomed the news.
“In the semi-final of the biggest cup competition in the country when you’ve got two of the biggest clubs in the country, it really should be (50/50),” he said. “It should be a great atmosphere to be involved in.”
The Scottish FA has been approached for comment.
Bojan Miovski took his tally to 22 for the season with two smart first-half goals from close range, the first through the goalkeeper’s legs and the second a stunning finish from just outside the six-yard box.
Warnock’s arrival has been met with intrigue, and the home support put on a pre-match display to welcome the 75-year-old for his first home match, with Bonnyrigg perhaps providing less glamorous opposition but also a potential banana skin.
Winning this competition is a stated aim of the Yorkshireman, and he made five changes to the side that had lost to Rangers in midweek, handing a debut to goalkeeper Ross Doohan in place of Kelle Roos, who came in for criticism for his part in the Ibrox defeat.
Doohan was in action early on, having to be alert to claim a deflected Smart Osadolor effort as the visitors tried to make an impression in front of their 859 travelling fans.
Aberdeen quickly settled into their rhythm and took the lead after 17 minutes. Leighton Clarkson stepped onto a loose ball and played in Shayden Morris, who in turn slipped in Miovski to nutmeg goalkeeper Paddy Martin.
The visitors responded and, after Jack Mackenzie coughed up possession on the edge of the area, Osadolor should have levelled, only for Nicky Devlin to get across and clear off the line.
The Dons wasted no time settling their nerves thereafter, with Clarkson whipping a superb cross to Dante Polvara at the back post. He headed down and Miovski struck a sweet half-volley into the top-right corner from eight yards.
The visitors tightened up to avoid the score becoming an embarrassment and they would have been relieved to see Miovski withdrawn at the hour mark, although not before he had forced a smart save from Martin.
There were a number of substitutions as Warnock got a look at as many of his squad as possible, but they still had to be wary of their League Two visitors, who forced a save from Doohan through Ross Gray after 65 minutes.
For the most part, though, Aberdeen were comfortable against a stoic Rose outfit as they moved into the next round.
The cinch League 2 bottom side hit the post before goals in each half from Bojan Miovski and Nicky Devlin saw Barry Robson’s side put their name in the hat for Sunday night’s fifth-round draw.
The Dons suffered the worst defeat in their history at this stage of last season’s tournament when they lost 1-0 against seventh-tier Darvel. That result, plus a 6-0 loss against Hibernian five days later, saw Jim Goodwin depart and Robson installed as manager, initially on an interim basis.
Robson had faced some pressure himself before three wins from the last four cinch Premiership games heading into the winter break saw the Dons move up to eighth. The Dons manager picked the same team and formation that helped them beat Ross County earlier this month, persisting with a back four.
There would still have been some trepidation among the Dons fans who headed to Hamilton and possibly some flashbacks to 361 days ago in Ayrshire when Clyde hit the frame of the goal midway through the first half.
It was the first time Ian McCall’s side had attacked with numbers and front pair Martin Rennie and Connor Young combined well on the edge of the box before the latter curled a shot off the foot of the post with Kelle Roos beaten.
Aberdeen had dominated possession until then without threatening but they came close moments later when Dante Polvara’s effort took a major deflection and spun just wide.
The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute after Jamie McGrath turned and crossed from the left side of the box. Devlin chested into path of Miovski who guided a first-time effort into the corner of the net from 12 yards.
The North Macedonia international volleyed against the bar just before the break following McGrath’s lofted pass and Aberdeen continued to dominate after the interval.
Leighton Clarkson twice threatened from long range either side of referee Euan Anderson waving away penalty claims when Darren Hynes appeared to haul down McGrath.
The visitors soon had their two-goal cushion when Polvara set up Devlin to fire into the far corner as Aberdeen attacked with pace in the 57th minute.
Clyde briefly threatened to make a game of it when Ji Stevenson had a shot blocked and Craig Howie volleyed over after the resulting corner.
Shayden Morris missed an excellent late chance at the other end, although only after Anderson played on despite Clyde defender Peter Grant being left on the ground with a facial injury after being forearm-smashed by Pape Gueye.
Postecoglou has become the odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham with one report claiming he will meet Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Monday.
The Celtic manager batted away questions over his future on Thursday as he bids to avoid distractions ahead of Saturday’s Hampden clash with Inverness and O’Riley claims the players will not be sidetracked.
“It’s not hard, to be honest,” the 22-year-old said. “There is always so much noise in football. Even with players, with managers, all sorts.
“There is a lot of stuff in the media all the time but I personally don’t believe most of the things I see, just because I know how football works.
“I’m sure he is very happy where he is because we are doing very well.
“It’s just part of football. Media-wise, there is always something going on and I’m sure there will always be the odd surprise that gets thrown in, someone leaves that you don’t expect, someone joins that comes out of nowhere. You just have to be ready for whatever comes.”
Postecoglou has been linked with numerous Premier League jobs throughout the season and Celtic have shown the focus to stay on course for a treble.
“It comes from, first of all, the hierarchy, the manager and staff setting the foundation of what can we do today to improve and taking it day by day,” O’Riley said.
“If you think too much about the future or stuff that has happened before, that’s when problems start to occur because you are probably in your head a bit too much.
“As long as we are focused on the day-to-day basics of trying to improve one another then I don’t think it should be a problem.”
However, the former MK Dons midfielder understands why many Celtic fans are anxious about the future amid the growing speculation over Postecoglou.
“He has provided so much success to the club, and hopefully that continues, and naturally fans are attached to someone who brings so much success,” he said.
“The same goes for the players in the group right now, everyone had good seasons for the most part, so naturally there is going to be interest in players, but hopefully we can keep as many together and push on even more next season.”
Postecoglou is odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham and refused to give any indication on whether he would be departing Celtic Park after making it five trophies in two seasons with a 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Inverness.
Many Celtic fans fear their manager is London-bound and he would not give any assurances to the contrary.
“I will say to them what I said to the players, let’s enjoy this,” he said. “I deserve to enjoy this, the people around me deserve to enjoy this.
“Whatever other people want to focus on and talk about, I am not going to miss enjoying this moment with this group of people but also I owe it to my family, my friends, all of those closest to me.
“Everyone works hard and makes sacrifices to enjoy these moments. I understand that other people who aren’t invested in it want to ask these questions but for me, right now, the most important thing is that we reflect and just be in the moment of creating something special.”
When it was pointed out that fans who are heavily-invested in Celtic are among those asking the questions, the 57-year-old said: “Yeah, but they deserve to enjoy this moment because, irrespective of what happens in the future, why would you not want to enjoy this moment just for what it is? It’s something historic.”
When asked if he anticipated being in Glasgow next season, the former Australia head coach said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.
“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.
“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”
Caley Thistle have knocked Celtic out of the Scottish Cup three times in seven meetings this century and the Hoops needed to come from behind in two of their triumphs.
Inverness beat Celtic 3-1 at Parkhead as a First Division club in the first encounter between the teams in February 2000 in a result that cost John Barnes his job as manager.
They also beat Martin O’Neill’s side in 2003 four days after the Hoops had won at Anfield on their way to the UEFA Cup final.
Ronny Deila also fell foul of Caley Thistle in the 2015 semi-finals in a result that cost Celtic the chance of a treble.
When told some people were predicting a walkover when the Scottish champions face a side who finished fifth in the cinch Championship, Postecoglou told Celtic TV: “The people at this club don’t tell me about that, they tell me about the past results against them, which makes you realise that if you are not on it on the day you can be beaten and there’s consequences to that.
“I can assure you that no-one in the building here is going into it with anything other than the approach that we have to be at our absolute best on the day.”
Caley Thistle have only played once since their semi-final win over Falkirk, losing to Ayr on May 5 in a late defeat which cost them a place in the Premiership play-offs.
“It’s a bit of a weird one for them, they won’t have had a game for close to a month by the time the cup final comes around,” Postecoglou said. “I’m sure they have been working away and had bounce games when they can.
“It’s a different opponent for us but, irrespective, it’s a cup final. Who the opponent is becomes secondary to the fact that you know you need to perform on the day and if you do there is a massive reward at the end of it.”
Caley Thistle restricted the champions to few chances before Kyogo Furuhashi swept home a 38th-minute winner in the Scottish Cup final.
Half-time sub Liel Abada doubled Celtic’s lead but Inverness fought back through Dan MacKay before Jota sealed a 3-1 win in stoppage-time.
“Everything a losing manager feels, you are disappointed, but proud at the same time.
“There’ s a massive gulf between the teams but I thought we asked them questions at certain times, I really did.
“We lost goals at bad times, because i was trying to get to half-time, had a plan in my head, then we lost a goal when I was going to make an attacking substitution.
“I love working with this group and after being idle for five weeks or so, I thought they put on a hell of a performance.
“I am absolutely thrilled by the way they dug in and what they gave me in terms of effort and determination.”
Dodds added: “Every manager talks about character and all that we have and we certainly did to come back into the game.
“Wallace Duffy whips in a great ball and it’s a brilliant finish from Dan MacKay.”
The Highlanders have not played a competitive game since losing their final cinch Championship fixture at home to Ayr on May 5.
That result cost them a crack at the play-offs and the squad were given nine days off before returning to training to focus on their bid to pull off a ‘miracle’ this weekend.
“It’s not been ideal and it has been a challenge but it’s not been terrible,” said boss Dodds, reflecting on the month-long gap between matches.
“I would have loved to have been in the play-offs having top-notch games going into the final but it wasn’t to be.
“The bonus about it is we got a wee rest, got them back for three weeks, conditioned them – not that they needed it – had a couple of (bounce) games and a practice game (against Dungannon Swifts), so we’re ready to go. It’s not been ideal but it’s not been terrible either.”
While Inverness have been idle, opponents Celtic have continued playing matches, albeit generally not to the same standard that they had set for the bulk of the season.
The Premiership champions – who will land a domestic treble if they secure the Scottish Cup on Saturday – won only two of their closing six league games, although they did finish their campaign with a 5-0 win over Aberdeen on Saturday.
Asked if Celtic’s recent form gave him optimism, Dodds said: “Did you watch the Aberdeen game at the weekend?
“We respect every opponent, as we have done throughout this competition. We respected Livingston and Kilmarnock and we had to because they’re Premiership teams but we have to focus on what we can do.
“We’re going to need a bit of luck, top-notch performances from my players, my goalkeeper to have a good day. But when I was at Queen of the South (as a coach) and we played Rangers in the (2008) Scottish Cup final we were 2-0 down at half-time (before coming back to 2-2 and then losing 3-2).
“This competition’s all about miracles and they do happen. We’re going there with the mindset we can win the game.”
Inverness’ best moment in their history came in 2015 when they won the Scottish Cup, and Dodds is hoping to repeat the feat eight years on.
“I think people remember the fairytales,” he said.
“You just have to look downstairs and see all the boys on the wall when Inverness last won the cup.
“I know it was against Falkirk but they beat Celtic in the semi-final. Things like that are always remembered, and rightly so. Any provincial club who wins a trophy, for example Ross County won the League Cup in 2016, it’s got a right to be remembered.”
Dodds has a full-strength squad to choose from with the exception of long-term absentees Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh, and he already has a good idea what his starting XI will look like.
“Because of the time off we’ve had, I’ve had plenty of time to think about how I’m going to try and nullify Celtic, because they are going to have a lot of the ball, but also try to be a threat as well,” he said.
“I’ve got to try and get that balance. I’ve got an idea of my team but you can never name it until the week’s over in case you pick up an injury or two.”
After the visitors found themselves behind after just 48 seconds, Conor Sammon would coolly curl home to bring them level with 27 minutes on the clock.
There was a nervous air around Fir Park, though Georgie Gent’s goal on the hour-mark and Blair Spittal’s sublime free-kick with three minutes left secured Well’s place in the next round.
The hosts made the ideal start when they opened the scoring after just 48 seconds. Adam Montgomery did well to pick out Spittal and his effort crept over the line after crashing off the underside of the crossbar.
Stuart Kettlewell’s side looked in complete command, though they would be stunned as Alloa struck on the break.
Sammon latched on to Taylor Steven’s flick-on and the striker punished his former side with a curling shot beyond Liam Kelly.
Suddenly, there was a nervousness about Well and the home supporters voiced their displeasure at their side’s performance on the half-time whistle.
Early in the second half, it took an excellent low save from Kelly to keep out Quinn Coulson’s header from finding the bottom corner – forcing Kettlewell to look to his bench.
Lennon Miller was introduced for his first appearance in almost three months – and it was to provide the spark Motherwell desperately required.
On the hour mark, Harry Paton slipped the ball into the path of the onrushing Gent who slammed low beyond Morrison to restore their lead.
Gent was involved minutes later when he pounced on Euan Deveney’s poor pass before being brought down by Scott Taggart.
John Beaton was quick to point to the spot but Spittal’s penalty was brilliantly parried away by Morrison.
Keen to avoid being pegged back for a second time, the Premiership side sought further goals. Miller’s strike from distance flew inches past the post before Montgomery then shot into the arms of the Alloa keeper.
Andy Halliday was introduced from the bench for the final 13 minutes and the game would be put beyond doubt when Spittal added his second of the afternoon with an unstoppable free-kick into the corner.
Rodgers faces a hearing on March 28 after being accused of breaching a rule which forbids criticising match officials “in such a way as to indicate bias or incompetence”.
The Northern Irishman claimed the “level of incompetence” made him worry for the game as he criticised the displays of referee Don Robertson and video assistant John Beaton in particular, with Yang Hyun-jun’s red card and a penalty for handball against Tomoki Iwata the key complaints.
Rodgers risks being banned from the touchline for Celtic’s cinch Premiership clash against Rangers on April 7 but, when asked if he had any regrets over his comments, he said: “No, not at all. My job is to defend the team, defend the club and that’s what we will do in this case.
“We will defend it vigorously and when the date comes we will go from there. I will sit down with the club and the lawyers and we will look at it from there.”
Rodgers added: “It was my observations over many games, primarily around the inconsistency of decisions.
“I never talk so much about referees and haven’t done over the course of my career. I understand they make mistakes. But I felt the ones last week were clear, clear errors.”
Celtic failed in an appeal over Yang’s red card for a high boot on Alex Cochrane, which was upgraded following a VAR review.
Rodgers said: “I have seen incidents worse than that, and I thought the on-field decision was correct, a yellow card.
“We had a report back that the studs and the boot was in the face of the player, which clearly a couple of days later when we get that report and it says that, it is clearly not the case when you watch it.”
Yang will be suspended for Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final against Livingston and fellow winger Luis Palma is a doubt with a knock.
Captain Callum McGregor will again sit out the game following an inconclusive scan after being troubled by pain in his Achilles/calf area.
“We had it in our mind anyway he would miss through until the international break and then take it from there,” Rodgers said.
“He travelled for the scan but nothing really showed up so much. We will assess it over the next couple of weeks. We will just have to see how that feels on a day-to-day basis really.
“It’s something he has felt most seasons of late, towards the back end of the season, but he has had to play through it or was able to play through it. It’s not something new but it’s something we have to look at and be mindful of.”
Alexandro Bernabei also drops out of the squad after being loaned to Brazilian club Internacional for the rest of 2024.
Rodgers was comfortable with the departure of the Argentinian despite having no regular left-back as cover for Greg Taylor.
“If I didn’t want it to happen it, it didn’t have to happen, but I’m confident enough in what we have in the squad for the remainder of the season, we will have coverage in that position,” Rodgers said. “Liam Scales has played there and we have other options.”
Celtic reached the semi-finals but it was more nervy than the 4-2 scoreline suggested with Livingston twice equalising through Daniel MacKay and Tete Yengi before Daizen Maeda completed his hat-trick in the 86th minute and substitute Kyogo Furuhashi netted deep in stoppage time.
Celtic again missed skipper McGregor, who hopes to return from an Achilles issue after the international break, and vice-captain Carter-Vickers was left out as a precaution amid concern over the troublesome hamstring which has forced the defender out for several lay-offs this season.
Rodgers was also without the suspended Yang Hyun-jun and injured Luis Palma along with long-term absentee Reo Hatate.
The Celtic boss praised Nicolas Kuhn for his creativity and fellow winger Maeda for his finishing, but added: “We didn’t close the spaces anywhere near what we would want and the speed of our game wasn’t what we would want. But I am understanding of that, some of the guys coming in and also the level of players who were missing.
“The players deserve credit, some hadn’t played a lot, Matt O’Riley was ill all week, Stephen Welsh came in at the last minute, Nicolas had one of his first games. There was a bit of disruption, but the guys got the job done.”
Rodgers admitted Celtic gave away “poor goals”, and added: “I think you see whenever Cam is not in the team – with the greatest of respect – the security in the team.
“I don’t have any fears when we have those guys back. I just think there’s a moment in any team when you are missing your best players then you will maybe not be as tight as you want to be.”
The Celtic manager explained the centre-back’s latest absence.
“We were just going through something very, very light and he made a pass and felt something in the back of his leg,” he said.
“He continued to train but we didn’t want to take any risk whatsoever because as much as he wants to play every game, we had this earlier in the season when he said he was OK and then we ended up losing him for more matches. So hopefully it’s nothing too serious, but we had to take the precaution.”
Rodgers also stated that the level McGregor brings to the game to is “beyond what a lot of our players can do”.
“To be fair, it’s a bit like Jamesy Forrest coming into the game, what a joy to see someone come in for that 25 minutes with that quality and the football idea he brought to the game,” Rodgers said.
“Callum is a player that is important for us, so fingers crossed again we can get to the bottom of that and he’ll be available after the international break.”
Livingston manager David Martindale bemoaned a Joe Hart save from Michael Nottingham’s header at 2-2 and hopes his players can take heart from their display as they bid to overturn a six-point deficit at the foot of the cinch Premiership.
“I’m pretty proud of them albeit we’re out of the cup,” he said.
“It’s been a painful season and we’re on a torrid run. I don’t need self-belief, but I can only hope the players take a wee bit of self-belief.
“I thought they were very good in the game, it would have been easy to come here and accept a 3-0 or 4-0 but they didn’t do that. They played on the front foot and managed the game reasonably well.”
The Highland League side are set for the biggest game in their history when they travel to Glasgow for Sunday’s fourth-round tie.
Footage emerged of the players on a night out reacting to the draw 24 hours after they beat Broxburn Athletic on penalties in the third round despite getting two men sent off.
Rodgers told Celtic TV: “For me it’s never mattered who the opponent is, we always prepare exactly the same and go through it with great detail.
“But it’s a great story for them. A lot of their players are part-time and to be able to come to Celtic will be a great occasion.
“I saw some of the images of the celebration when the guys saw they had drawn Celtic, which is great, that’s what cup competitions are all about.
“But of course our professional head is to get the job done and get into the next round. We have to be super-focused and professional.”
The Parkhead club clinched an eighth domestic treble – a world record – with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park.
Afterwards, Postecoglou refused to commit himself to Celtic for next season and McGregor was asked about the former Australia manager’s accomplishment of the clean sweep in Scotland which brings another entry into the Champions League next season, amid strong speculation about his future.
McGregor, who has now won the treble five times with the Parkhead club, said: “That’s what he always wants to speak about, how well he can build the group, how successful you can be, how together you can be.”
The Hoops captain, who said his personal haul of medals “is something I am proud of, you want to be a winner” added: “We hope he stays and we hope to see him in pre-season.
“In football you never know but if that is a parting gift then what a way to go.
“Of course (we hope he stays). You deliver that much success at the club in such a short space of time.
“You turn things around, you look at the togetherness of the group, it is fantastic and that starts from him.
“That is the message he sets every day so of course we understand he will be linked with big jobs which he has been but selfishly, as players and as a club, we want to keep him as long as we can.”
Asked if he was braced for Postecoglou’s departure, McGregor said: “We don’t know.
“In football there is always speculation, there is always people being linked and that is a good thing.
“It shows you are doing a good job, it shows the players have done a good job for him and he has done a great job for the club so it is always nice to have that compliment and in football you just never know.
“We celebrate tonight, we have had a brilliant season and we will see what happens.
“In football you deal with whatever comes your way, you have to be flexible, you have to work around these things and as I said selfishly we want to keep him. Hopefully we have him for pre-season.”
The backdrop to the Hoops’ 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Championship side Inverness at Hampden Park on Saturday was the link between the former Australia manager and Tottenham.
Goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and Jota rendered Dan MacKay’s header a consolation as the Parkhead club completed their eighth domestic treble – a world record.
Fans hero Postecoglou arrived at Parkhead in June 2021 and brought in the Sweden centre-back from Rubin Kazan the following month and Starfelt – who insisted that he had no knowledge of what his boss intended to do – has enjoyed his development as a player in that period.
He said: “Obviously, he brought me here. I was one of the first signings he made and he has given me a lot of trust.
“He has been really good for me and my development, also the way he wants centre-backs to play is really developing.
“I feel that I have been taking very big steps and also he demands the very best from every player which makes us better.
“So, obviously he has been really good for me and a lot of the players.”
Starfelt acknowledged the widespread influence of Postecoglou at Celtic, where he arrived after the league title had decanted to Rangers, wresting it back to the east end of Glasgow at the first attempt.
He said: “It is really important for the club – everyone can see that.
“He came in when it was a really tough period and has done this rebuild. He is just a really good manager and everyone knows he is really important for the club but we will have to wait and see what happens, I don’t know.
“After the game he said that he was really proud of everyone.
“He knows how hard we have been working all season, not only in the games, coming into training every day with 100 per cent focus, which is what is needed to achieve this kind of thing as it is not easy. It took a lot to get us to this place.
“We have been working really hard all season. I am really happy, delighted, happy and proud of the boys and the staff.
“We worked so hard and the treble is not an easy thing to achieve so I’m really happy.”
Idah came on from the bench to net a 90th-minute winner for the Hoops, who secured a league and cup double in Brendan Rodgers' first season back in charge.
Rangers thought they had taken the lead midway through the second half at Hampden Park, when Abdallah Sima tapped in from on the line.
However, VAR came to Celtic's rescue, with the onfield referee overturning his decision to give the goal when the replays showed Nicolas Raskin had pushed Hoops goalkeeper Joe Hart, who was playing in his last match before retirement.
Celtic made their good fortune count, with Idah reacting sharply to slam home from close range after Jack Butland spilled a shot.
It gave Rangers no time to respond, as Celtic sealed their 42nd Scottish Cup crown.
Data Debrief: Hart bows out on top
Hart confirmed his retirement several weeks ago, and the former England goalkeeper goes out on the highest note possible, with a domestic double.
The 37-year-old retires with six titles to his name with Celtic, following on from five trophies during his time with Manchester City.
In what proved to be his final Scottish Cup campaign, Hart conceded five goals in five appearances, keeping three clean sheets and recording a save percentage of 66.67.
Greg Taylor fired a low finish beyond Jon McLaughlin shortly after the hour to hand Celtic the lead, before substitute Scott Arfield bent home a brilliant leveller to force additional time.
With a penalty shoot-out on the horizon, Starfelt deflected Calvin Bassey's left-wing cross past Joe Hart to send Rangers to their 53rd Scottish Cup final, where Hearts lie in wait after overcoming Hibernian on Saturday.
A boisterous atmosphere gave way to a frantic opening at Hampden Park, with Ryan Kent firing over under pressure and Jota heading onto the roof of the net at the other end.
John Lundstram curled against the post as Rangers enjoyed the better of the first half, but their threat faded somewhat after Aaron Ramsey was injured shortly before the break.
Ange Postecoglou's side improved after half time and took the lead after 63 minutes, Taylor spinning on Callum McGregor's inventive shot free-kick before firing into the bottom-right corner.
The Hoops went close to a quickfire second five minutes later when Cameron Carter-Vickers crashed a left-footed shot against the crossbar from a corner.
They were made to pay for that missed opportunity after 78 minutes with Arfield latching onto Kemar Roofe's heavy touch to curl home just four minutes after coming on.
Celtic somehow survived Rangers twice hitting the woodwork in the 110th minute, James Tavernier smashing off the near post and Fashion Sakala diverting the rebound onto the top of the bar.
But Rangers found time for a winner as Bassey's left-wing cutback was diverted into his own net by Starfelt under pressure from Sakala, ending Celtic's treble hopes and booking Rangers' cup final spot.
What does it mean? Rangers continue bid to end cup draught
Rangers have not lifted either of Scotland's two domestic cups since winning the Scottish League Cup in 2011, and Celtic have won the Scottish Cup on six occasions since the Ibrox outfit last did so in 2009.
Their extra-time win means they will appear in May's showpiece event for the 53rd time, where they will look to lift their first domestic cup in over a decade.
Celtic's treble hopes in tatters
Meanwhile, Celtic went into this game looking to keep their hopes of a fifth domestic treble in six seasons alive, after winning the Scottish League Cup in December and establishing a six-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men will be delighted with ending the Hoops' dreams of another domestic clean sweep, and could yet win two trophies themselves as they remain in the hunt for the Europa League.
Gers end Postecoglou's derby run
Postecoglou's team looked set for a third successive Old Firm derby win when Taylor fired home the opener, but a stunning Rangers turnaround denied Celtic that feat, and means the Glasgow giants have won two derbies apiece in all competitions this season.
What's next?
Celtic continue their bid to regain the Scottish title at Ross County next Sunday, with Rangers travelling to Motherwell on the same day, looking to capitalise on any slip-up from the leaders.
The returning Portuguese winger punished slack Gers defending three minutes from the interval to head past keeper Allan McGregor from close range.
Ibrox skipper James Tavernier hit the post with a drive in a breathless second half, with substitute Fashion Sakala missing the open goal from the rebound, but despite much huffing and puffing the holders could not muster an equaliser and it eventually turned into another hard-luck story.
Ominously, Michael Beale has not beaten Celtic in four attempts since taking over as Light Blues boss last November, while Rangers have not won an Old Firm game in six attempts.
Ange Postecoglou’s side, one cinch Premiership victory away from retaining the title and with the ViaPlay trophy already in the Parkhead trophy room, will be overwhelming favourites when they play Championship side Inverness at the national stadium on June 3 and few will bet against them completing the clean sweep.
For Beale and Rangers, it is now all about next season.
A 50-50 allocation split ensured the atmosphere was much more electric than in recent league games, attended by the home support only, and there was some drama when referee Willie Collum pulled up in the warm-up to be replaced by fourth official Don Robertson.
Gers fans welcomed back defender Connor Goldson and Ryan Kent while Hoops supporters were delighted to see Japan midfielder Reo Hatate and Jota back from injury, to have both sides more or less at full strength.
After the kick-off was delayed to allow the smoke from supporters’ flares to clear, Rangers showed their intent to press early and midfielder Nicolas Raskin won a corner with a deflected shot from 25 yards, which was well defended.
Celtic settled and began forcing the Govan side into basic errors as they enjoyed a period of control, with Rangers responding in a see-saw match.
The first clear-cut chance of the fiery encounter had still to arrive but in the 26th minute McGregor made a good diving save from Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston’s powerful 20-yard shot before the Gers keeper saved Jota’s angled-drive with his foot.
Malik Tillman injured himself challenging Celtic left-back Greg Taylor down the left-flank and had to be replaced by fellow midfielder Scott Arfield.
Jota failed to control a Daizen Maeda cross when unmarked at the back post and a decent chance was gone but he made no mistake moments later.
Rangers inexplicably stopped when referee Robertson took no action after Raskin challenged Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley at the edge of the box and Maeda took possession of the loose ball and swiftly crossed for Jota to bullet a header past McGregor.
Rangers began the second-half as well as they had the first and won a series of free-kicks. From one delivery, Hoops keeper Joe Hart saved from Sakala then from Ryan Kent, before defender Cameron Carter-Vickers cleared to safety.
Johnston clashed with Barisic and limped off to be replaced by Anthony Ralston and the match swung from end to end.
Hoops striker Kyogo Furuhashi forced a save from McGregor with a drive to the near post before Arfield tested Hart with an effort from a similar distance.
In the 65th minute, when Tavernier beat Hart with a low drive from distance and Sakala missed the target with the rebound, it felt like it was not going to the Ibrox side’s day.
Tavernier headed a deep cross from Barisic on to the ground and over the bar from 10 yards as Rangers’ pressure intensified but they eventually ran out of time.
Beale has spoken regularly in recent weeks about the rebuild he proposes next season and he needs to get it right but before that there is another Old Firm meeting in the league in two weeks’ time in which Celtic will again fancy their chances as they continue to dominate this fixture.
Rangers have been handed a home draw against Ayr with only one all-Premiership tie in the last 16.
Aberdeen are at home to Bonnyrigg Rose, who knocked out Falkirk, while Airdrie have been rewarded for their victory over St Johnstone with another home tie against Hearts.
Hibernian face a journey to Inverness to face Duncan Ferguson’s men while Motherwell are travelling to Greenock to take on Dougie Imrie’s Morton side.
Partick Thistle have the chance to knock out another top-flight club following their win over Ross County, after being drawn at home to Livingston.
Kilmarnock will find out their opponents on Tuesday when Brora Rangers take on Cove Rangers for the right to travel to Rugby Park.
The games will take place on the weekend of February 10-11.
Hoops boss Neil Lennon has been under huge pressure this season, but his side made history at Hampden Park on Sunday.
The Glasgow giants made hard work of completing a fourth successive Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup clean sweep in a final that was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.
They were level at 3-3 after extra-time, but the Championship leaders went down 4-3 on spot-kicks.
Kristoffer Ajer scored the winning penalty after Hearts duo Stephen Kingsley and Craig Wighton failed to beat Conor Hazard from 12 yards, with Craig Gordon having denied Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie.
Christie and Odsonne Edouard had given Lennon's side a 2-0 half-time lead, but Liam Boyce and Kingsley struck to force extra-time in an epic encounter.
Leigh Griffiths restored Celtic's lead and, although Josh Ginnelly brought the Edinburgh club level again, the Scottish champions were not to be denied a 12th domestic trophy in a row.
