Celtic

Anthony Stokes hopes to silence Celtic critics

By Steven Toplis, ReporterPublished: 23 May 2013 4:59 PM

Celtic striker Anthony Stokes says that he wants the club to silence the critics by winning the Scottish Cup final against Hibernian.

Celtic striker Anthony Stokes has said that he wants the club to silence the critics by winning Sunday's Scottish Cup final against Hibernian.

Neil Lennon's side finished 16 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League, but some observers suggested that they had stumbled across the finishing line.

However, Stokes believes that the players deserve more credit for what they have achieved this season.

"Have we had the credit we deserved this season? I don't know," he told Sky Sports News. "When we were doing really well in Europe, everybody was talking about us being a great young side.

"But when you tail off with three or four games to go, people tend to have short memories. We will look back on it as a great season with a great run in Europe. We won the league fairly comfortably and our main aim now is to do the double.

"The league is the main aim year after year - it's the big one. I think we deserve the double this year. I wasn't involved in the Champions League run but I think the team has been outstanding throughout the whole season."

Celtic also reached the last 16 of this season's Champions League, where they were beaten by Juventus.