EXCESSIVE verbiage has lately been devoted to Celtic exploiting the weaknesses of their local rivals to snare silverware this season.

INVERNESS manager Terry Butcher left his team without a name after they had failed to give Celtic any kind of game. He described the 2-0 Scottish Cup defeat as their “worst display of the season” and one that had come at the worst possible time with “millions around the world” watching the lunchtime fifth-round tie at the Caledonian Stadium which was screened live by Sky Sports. It could have been no more painful a watch for any of these viewers than it was for Butcher. “We never turned up, never matched Celtic,” he said. “Celtic worked harder and that is an awful thing to say about my team. I have to be careful what I say because we let everybody down.”

ST JOHNSTONE assistant manager Tommy Wright knows what it’s like to buck the odds to lift silverware.

He worked miracles at financially crippled Lisburn Distillery in his native Northern Ireland to haul the club back from the brink and lift the League Cup trophy.

IT MAY be a work in progress but at least there are finally some signs that progress is being made. Not only did Hibs defy the Scottish Cup gremlins and edge through to the quarter-finals of the competition, they did it by keeping their first clean sheet at home since September.

T HE headlines surrounding the future of Rangers and their failure to bring anyone in to replace striker Nikica Jelavic have been largely unavoidable during the past week.

THE idea of Neil Lennon and Paulo Sergio chomping down on a couple of cigars in their post-match confab on Wednesday night might seem bizarre.

THIS cup tie had its drama all right, but in an economical sort of way. That there was plenty of endeavour was a given, but all the talking points came in two short sharp bursts at the end of either half.

SEASONS change, as do the players, and even their manager, but Aberdeen can always be relied upon to make a meal of knockout competition.

WHILE happy to still have the majority of his first-team regulars, the transfer window didn’t deliver everything Hearts manager Paulo Sergio had hoped for.

MOTHERWELL secured a place in the last eight of the Scottish Cup with a victory even more emphatic than the scoreline might suggest.

Goals from Georgios Samaras and Scott Brown eased Celtic past Inverness in their William Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round tie at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

Ally McCoist has admitted that selling Nikica Jelavic was not ideal but he is looking to the future and believes Rangers can still be successful.

A Scottish-born Celtic fan has become the unlikely hero of America's biggest sport, NFL. Lawrence Tynes, the son of a US Army Navy SEAL stationed in Scotland, kicked The New York Giants into the Super Bowl XLVI.

Motherwell thumped Morton 6-0 at Fir Park on Saturday to book their place in Monday's draw for the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup

EOIN Doyle’s 15th minute goal was enough to sent Hibs marching into the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup this afternoon.

Ross County captain Richard Brittain missed a late penalty against St Mirren in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup, as the clash finished 1-1.

Eoin Doyle's strike earned a resolute Hibernian side a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock at Easter Road and a Scottish Cup quarter-final spot.

Saturday's Scottish Football podcast is packed with reaction to the day's Scottish Cup fixtures. Neil Lennon and an angry Terry Butcher give us their take on Celtic's 2-0 win in Inverness. Queen of the South hold the Dons to a 1-1 draw, we hear from Gus MacPherson and Craig Brown. Kenny Shiels and Pat Fenlon talk about Hibernian's victory over Killie. Motherwell thrash Morton 6-0 - Stuart McCall talks to Sportsound. Finally we speak to Danny Lennon and Derek Adams after St Mirren survive a last minute penalty scare at home to Ross County in their 1-1 draw.

Aberdeen came from behind to earn a replay against Queen of the South as the teams drew 1-1 at Pittodrie in Saturday's Scottish Cup tie.

Motherwell booked their place in the last eight of the Scottish Cup with an emphatic 6-0 victory over Morton at Fir Park on Saturday.