Celtic v Hibs

May 11 2008 By Gordon Waddell

Consolation Cup Doesn't Interest Gaz Celtic V Hibs Today, Kick-Off 12.30pm Live Setanta Sports

GARY CALDWELL last night wished rivals Rangers all the best in their UEFA Cup quest on Wednesday but insisted: "We're not jealous."

The Celtic stopper has seen Gers hog the headlines since their shoot-out stunner with Fiorentina.

And the Hoops will take a back seat all week as the other half of Glasgow invades Manchester for the final showdown with Zenit St Petersburg.

But Caldwell insists he would rather have achieved what Celts did in Europe - qualifying from the group stages of the Champions League - than get the chance to win the consolation cup.

Asked if he would be watching the UEFA Cup Final and wishing it was Celtic, Gary shrugged: "I don't think so.

"Our aim was to get out of the Champions League groups again and by doing that you'll never win the UEFA Cup.

"We achieved what we wanted to in Europe. Although we would have liked to have gone a bit further we came up against an excellent team in Barcelona.

"And to have that experience and faced those great players in the Nou Camp is something I will always look back on.

"So I don't think there's any jealousy.

It's great for Scottish football though and we wish Rangers all the best.

"The focus has been on them and they have rightly been given a lot of credit for getting to the final - it's a great achievement for a Scottish club. They deserve all the praise.

"But we will happily go along in the background and try to pick up the points that could get us the championship."

That title can only be won if Gordon Strachan's side take six points fromtoday's home game against Hibs and their final clash of the season at Tannadice.

They also need Gers to crack under the pressure of a hectic run of matches.

Asked if he would rather have the points in the bag or the games in hand, the 26-year-old confessed: "I've been asked that a lot - all I will say is you want your fate in your own hands.

"If someone said: 'You win every game, you win the league' that's what you want.

"When you need to rely on other people it's more difficult.

"All we can do is our job. If we take six points and that turns out to be enough we will be deserved champions."

The former Hibs ace admits he dipped into Rangers' nail-biter with Motherwell on Wednesday night.

But despite frantic text messages from a pal who thought he was witnessing the moment the tide turned, Caldwell was having none of it.

He said: "I watched the second half of the Rangers match. Do I get involved? I just watch the game to see how the teams are playing, take what you can from it.

"I had a friend texting me and he was saying: 'This is nerve-wracking!' But I just sent him a message back saying Rangers would score any minute.

"Within two minutes they had. As a footballer you can watch a game and understand it more than a fan. They have an emotional involvement in it, they get nervous. However, I could sense Rangers were going to score against Well so there was none of that for me.

"If you know the game you watch that second half and see the goal is coming for a long time. Rangers could have had a few more by the end too.

"And despite people maybe thinking the pressure is on Rangers to keep winning I would say it's on us to win our two games first to give us any chance."

Caldwell knows what it's like to throw a spanner in the title works.

He was in the Hibs side that came to Parkhead in 2005 and won 3-1 - one of the results that ultimately cost Martin O'Neill's Hoops their title.

The defender said: "I had some great games against the Old Firm when the league was in the balance.

"I remember we won 3-1 at Parkhead one year when we were pushing for Europe.

That was a big victory for us.

"It was the year we lost to Rangers on the last day - when they won the league and we secured Europe on the same day.

"I've been involved in a lot of games affecting the outcome of the title but it's more important when you're on the other end of it.

"And results like the one Hibs got in 2005 are a warning to both teams that one slip-up can lose you the league.

"The fact it's Hibs again makes it a bit more special for me-it's always a big match against your old club.

"I'm sure I will get a bit of stick but it's all part of the game. We're at home so it shouldn't be quite as loud as normal."

Hibs are fighting for a European place again and Caldwell reckons the tight race for a UEFA Cup slot has made every fixture since the split so important.

He said: "The top six has worked out well this season. You can sometimes end up with meaningless games but all six have something to play for this time.

"We're not playing anyone with nothing to lose and that just adds to it.

"Whatever happens though we've had a good season. We've had blips - a tricky period in December, another wee run when we couldn't score - but you have to come through them and grow.

"To crown it by winning the league would make it a great campaign."