Of all the potential prizes that are up for grabs in tomorrow’s archetypal David and Goliath meeting in the Scottish Cup between Albion Rovers and Celtic, such as Brendan Rodgers’s chances of a historic treble in his first season in charge of the champions, or the opportunity to record one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s long history for Rovers, it is a three-course meal that is motivating one particular household with vested interests in the outcome.
That’s what is at stake between flatmates Ryan Christie and Callum Ferguson, childhood friends and present-day lodgers as they find themselves on opposite sides as the battle-lines are drawn at the Excelsior Stadium.
To claim the reward, all that either player must do is score in the game. If both find the net, it is presumed they will go Dutch.
“I’ve barely seen him actually because I’ve been away in Dubai,” Christie said. “He’s been winding me up that I was away in the sun and he was playing in a mudbath at the weekend.
“We’ve spoken a bit about the game, but we’re keeping our cards close to our chest as of now.
“It will be very strange. I don’t really know how it will feel. Obviously he wants to win and I want to win. We are both very competitive people.
“We play FIFA all the time but even little things around the flat it is about trying to get the better of the other one.
“I am not a bad cook but he is terrible. If I score, it might be a trip out to a restaurant.”
The friendly wager aside, there is no doubt that for Celtic man Christie, the match could carry weighty significance for his future prospects in the green and white. Flirting around the edges of the first-team this season, he has impressed in his fleeting cameos, but this clash against League One opposition may hand him a significant opportunity to influence the thinking of his manager.
And while he would have liked to have clocked up more minutes in the starting eleven, he is keen to showcase the fact that he too has benefited from his boss’s knack for improving the players under his charge.
“From the start of the season looking back to where I am now, I can 100% say I've improved my game in all sorts of different aspects,” he said.
“In terms of tactics, the ideas when the manager first came in, the boys have all had to start again and start learning his ideas. From where we were then to where we are now is really impressive. I think I've come on in leaps and bounds."
So happy is he Christie with his lot, that a loan move to one of a long line of suitors is not something that appeals to him.
"I'm absolutely happy to stay here," he said. "My plan from the start of season has been to get myself into that starting eleven. After the winter break that's in my mind. Obviously there are still a few months coming up with games coming thick and fast so it's important that players like me are ready and if I get put in I can keep my place.
"[The manager] is very vocal with the players, he's good man-management-wise, he's always letting me know that I'm not out of sight. Even though I'm not playing so many games I'm still having an impact and I'm still in his thoughts, which is good. That raises my confidence and positivity going forward.
“It sounds bad but it’s easier to get into a team that’s playing poorly rather than one that is playing very well. It shows me that I have to be looking to be that extra bit patient and rely on getting game-time when the manager needs to change it due to fatigue."
At the age of just 21, Christie’s Scottish Cup pedigree is impressive. In fact, both he and his father have found success in the competition, usually at the expense of Celtic.
When at Inverness, Christie junior won the trophy after dumping his future employers out at the semi-final stage, while his father Charlie played in the Highlander’s famous triumph at Celtic Park that spelled the end of the ill-fated John Barnes era.
“Maybe it’s time to repay the favour for Celtic,” Christie said sheepishly. “I can’t really remember much of playing in the [semi-final] itself. I remember when it went 1-1 and when Craig Gordon was sent off the dynamic of the game changed.
“And to be fair going into extra time I felt for some reason, which is strange, that we would go on and win it. You never normally have that feeling playing Celtic.”
If the experience of taking down a giant has taught Christie anything though, it is that he doesn't want to be the one on the end of the stone.
“Looking back it was a really big upset,” he said. “Going into the game I don’t think many people gave us a chance. Then it was very strange going into the final not being underdogs.
“Looking back on the cup-run the semi-final was the biggest game to win the cup by beating Celtic in the semi-final.
“You can’t beat the Scottish Cup can you? It’s an unbelievable competition, personally I’ve obviously got good memories of it with Inverness and I want to make a few more with Celtic.”
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