Glamour Ties, Club Legends, and Pressure Mounting: Scottish Cup 4th Round Breakdown

With the 4th round of the Scottish Cup taking place this weekend, here are the key storylines ahead of an action-packed weekend. Game of the Round – Dunfermline v Hibernian Neil Lennon welcomes his former side to East End Park for an intriguing Saturday lunchtime kick-off. Lennon, who oversaw 122 games at Easter Road and returned the club to the top flight as 2017 Championship winners, will be desperate to upset the odds. His Dunfermline side currently sits 5th in the Championship, three points adrift of the playoffs. Standing in his way is an Hibernian icon, David Gray. The man who ended Hibs’ 114-year Scottish Cup hoodoo with a famous header against Rangers in 2016. With Lennon facing his former side and Gray looking to start another memorable cup run, the storylines alone could make this a classic cup tie. Team Spotlight – Auchinleck Talbot Auchinleck Talbot have secured a massive glamour tie against Celtic this Sunday evening. While the venue has shifted from Beechwood Park to Rugby Park, the sense of occasion remains clear for the fans and long-term manager Tommy Sloan, who has been at the helm since 2003. Talbot’s road to the fourth round has been clinical. Dispatching Haddington, local rivals Cumnock, Gretna, and Dumbarton, netting 13 goals along the way. This marks their first return to this stage since 2022, when they hosted Hearts in a memorable 5-0 defeat. Regardless of the final score, Sunday’s fixture is a financial game-changer that secures the club’s future for years to come. Manager to Watch – Jim Goodwin Dundee United welcome Ayr United to Tannadice in a clash that feels pivotal for Jim Goodwin. After a brutal start to 2026, headlined by a painful derby loss to Dundee and a heavy defeat at the hands of Celtic, Goodwin’s record of just two wins in 13 has left him with zero margin for error. For a club that finished fourth last season and enjoyed a brief stint in the European qualifiers, the current slump is a bitter pill for the Tangerine faithful to swallow. The visitors are a difficult test, Scott Brown’s Ayr United sit 4th in the championship, and have enjoyed a run of 1 defeat in their last 11. For United, victory is crucial to end their dismal run.

“We All Know We Need to Put in Stronger Performances”- Benjamin Nygren

Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren conceded that the level of performance from himself and his teammates must improve in the final half of this season.  The Swede scored the only goal in a narrow 1-0 win away to Falkirk, bringing him up to ten for in the league campaign so far, only behind Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland. And the 24-year-old is aware of the importance of getting positive results at this time of year. He said: “We said in the dressing room before that we have to almost win every game now. “In the end, it’s about getting the three points. If you play a great game, you still get three points. Today we didn’t play our best game but we still got the three points and that’s the most important thing.” Falkirk had a series of chances in a game in which the home side dominated spells of. Nygren was quick to give John McGlynn’s side credit where it was due, but also feels Celtic must look inwards. “For sure, I can give Falkirk some credit, they played a good game, but I still think we should do a better performance. “But we didn’t, and we still ran a lot of metres and did pretty good defensively. “We all know we have to put in stronger performances to win football games, today was not good enough. “We cannot continue with performances like this, but today we got the win and we are pleased with that.” Nygren is averaging a goal less than every three games after converting his twelfth Celtic goal in 33 appearances, but the summer recruit insists that the team performing well is his priority. “I always want to do good individually, but it’s a team sport so the most important thing is for us to win the league, and be first in the league and we are not at the moment. “But you need to score goals to win games and I’ve always been a player that from a deeper position that is creating chances, and scoring goals and making assists in the final third and I want to continue.” Celtic are now six points behind leaders Hearts after they also won tonight, but Nygren believes that this Celtic squad can turn their fortunes around. “We have the team right now to turn it around. In a massive club like Celtic, you always need competition [amongst the players]. “We still play both Hearts and Rangers again so it’s still in our hands and we will do everything to turn it around.” Celtic travel to Rugby Park on Sunday afternoon to take on non-league Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup, before a week which sees them travel to Bologna in their penultimate Europa League league phase match on Thursday, and then to league leaders Hearts in a mouth-watering clash on Sunday.

Scottish Cup biggest shocks in recent times

With the Scottish Cup Fourth round just around the corner, let’s take a look at some of the biggest cup upsets in the competition. Darvel 1-0 Aberdeen, 2023. Aberdeen took the trip to West of Scotland junior side, Darvel and a tie which you’d fully expect the Dons to come away with. Going into the match, no junior outfit was able to get past Premiership opposition since 1967 but Darvel had other ideas. An outstanding evening in Ayrshire as Mick Kennedy defeated Jim Goodwin with a first half strike by Jordan Kirkpatrick sealing the biggest shock in Scottish Cups history. Rangers 0-1 Queens Park, 2025. Last season Scottish Cup campaign was very interesting to say the least. Rangers were by far favourites going into this derby at Ibrox as they were one of the favourites to win the competition. Rangers controlled the early stages but couldn’t get the ball to rattle the net. Into the second 45, Seb Drozd with a calm finish put the spiders in front. Rangers had a last second penalty but an amazing stop by Calum Ferrie to deny James Tavernier to send the Championship side into the next round. Brora Rangers 2-1 Hearts, 2021. At the time Championship big boys Hearts were stunned as Highland League side, Brora Rangers dumped the Edinburgh side out of the Scottish Cup. Brora man, Jordan MacRae had the hosts ahead but Christophe Berra had the Gorgie side back on level terms but it wasn’t over there. Martin MacLean ensured Hearts were left stunned as the Highland League side grab a famous win over a strong Hearts side. Clyde 2-1 Celtic, 2006. The Roy Keane Celtic debut didn’t go to plan with a shock defeat at Broadwood. Clyde were up by two goals to nil with Craig Bryson and Eddie Malone putting the Bully Wee ahead at the break. It was going so well for the Clyde side until Celtic struck late through Maciej Zurawski but luckily enough for Clyde, it was just a consolation goal as Graham Roberts and Clyde pulled off an all mighty cup upset. Auchinleck Talbot 1-0 Ayr United, 2019. In the Ayrshire derby, junior outfit Auchinleck Talbot met their Ayrshire rivals, Ayr United in the Scottish Cup. Former Ayr defender, Craig McCracken put the non-league side ahead in the second half scoring against his former side, Ayr United to serve a massive shock at Beechwood Park. Auchinleck have been a mastermind of pulling off shocks, doing it to Hamilton a while back but Ayr most certainly tops it. Kelty Hearts 1-0 St Johnstone, 2022. At the time League Two, Kelty Hearts welcomed Premiership St Johnstone to New Central Park. Kelty were on fire in the Scottish Fourth division going against the current holders at the time. The fixture was sent to extra-time as neither side could break the deadlock. Into the additional period, Kallum Higginbotham provided the scare as he sent the League Two side into the next round as Callum Davidson’s side Scottish Cup campaign was over.

“We said at halftime, this can be done” – McInnes

Derek McInnes described his side’s 2-0 victory over St Mirren as “brilliant” as Hearts secured a second 10-man win in three days. His side survived 45 minutes with 10 men to beat Dundee on Sunday afternoon, butMcInnes believes this victory “tops it by a long way”. “We were in trouble. We got the experience on Sunday. We played similarly, although Dundee played a different shape to St Mirren.” “We were still carrying a threat with three at the top of the pitch to try and carry a threat, give us a bit of oxygen, give us a bit of relief. The three lads, Lawrence, Claudio, and Kyzi, carried a fight for us and gave us some good moments, but without scoring the goal.” Beni Baningime’s late challenge on Ronald Idowu gave the Jambos a mountain to climb in the 15th minute, but once more, they rose from the canvas to deliver a crucial victory, maintaining their six-point gap at the summit of the Scottish Premiership. “Beni Baningime, who’s as popular a boy in that dressing room as anybody, is in tears. We had to help him out. We had to dig ourselves out of a bit of trouble.” “With 10 men against a team like St Mirren, it’s not always easy. We thought we had enough encouragement at times, we had a couple of good opportunities, good breaks.” “It’s a great bit of play in the lead-up to Lawrence’s goal where the captain sets the right tone, gets the goal and then we have something to hang on to.” “That’s due to the effort of the lads. We can only set them up. I can only give them the instruction of what’s the best chance to get that clean sheet.” The win maintains their 100% winning start to 2026, keeping three clean sheets in the process. McInnes’ side have another quick turnaround, as they welcome Falkirk to Tynecastle for the Scottish Cup 4th Round on Saturday evening.

“They made me look stupid” – Stephen Robinson

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson admitted his players were given some “home truths” after a flat 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle, leaving his side precariously close to the relegation spots. Hearts have been incredible this season, and Tynecastle is a difficult venue, but Robinson is more frustrated about his team’s energy and the way they approached the match. St Mirren were given a major advantage in the 15th minute, after Beni Baningime was shown red after a late tackle on Roland Idowu. With two disallowed goals, it wasn’t the night for Robinson’s side, as Lawrence Shankland and Tómas Bent Magnússon sealed the win for the Jambos. Now the League Cup Winners are left third bottom, and with Kilmarnock under new management, will it be a fight to escape the playoff spot? Last season, St Mirren finished on 50 points, and as it stands after 22 games played, they have accumulated just 18. Steven Robinson didn’t hold back in his interview with the BBC after the match. He said, “Are they starting to believe the hype and the publicity after the cup win, thinking they’re possibly a little bit better than they are, and they don’t need to work as hard? “How you train is how you play, and some people haven’t trained properly. Some people have moped about a little bit because they weren’t in the team, but have come in and played like that.” “Sometimes players make you look stupid, and certainly they made me look stupid tonight.” A double header with struggling Livingston, could see St Mirren progress in the cup in the first meeting and get back to winning ways in the league in the second visit to The Set Fare Arena, which would be two great results and surely give some much-needed confidence.

“I Can’t Remember Our Goalkeeper Being So Quiet Against Celtic” – John McGlynn

Falkirk boss John McGlynn shared disappointment over his side being unable to take anything from their 1-0 defeat at home to Celtic.  It is only the third time the Bairns have lost at The Falkirk Stadium this season, with their home form being a significant factor as to why Falkirk find themselves in the top six. However, manager McGlynn was dismayed that his side lost tonight, despite having enough chances to get at least a point if not all three. He said: “Never mind being a Falkirk fan, I think any neutral individual is going to say Falkirk deserved to take something from that game. “I thought we were the better team in the first half, and created some really good opportunities and gutted to come in at half-time a goal down. “Very proud of our performance, I think it was an outstanding performance. I’ve played against Celtic many times, I can’t remember our goalkeeper being so quiet. Scott Bain’s not had an awful lot to do and that’s unusual.” Striker Barney Stewart was recalled from Dunfermline in late December after scoring 7 goals in 11 Championship appearances, but was denied twice tonight by Kasper Schmeichel in two one on one scenarios tonight. McGlynn retains faith that the goals will come for the 21-year-old. “Barney, thirteen months ago, is playing for Heriot-Watt University. He’s playing out there against Celtic, who are champions. What is he going to be like in three, four, five, six months from now having had that experience of going out there and creating the opportunities that he did? “Yeah, he didn’t take them, but keep getting in there, keep getting in they positions. It’ll start hitting the back of the net and then we’ve got a player there.” It is the third meeting between Falkirk and Celtic this season, with Celtic also winning the other two 4-1 and 4-0 both at Celtic Park. McGlynn hopes his side can take confidence into their next meeting there, which takes place in just over two weeks on February 1st. “I’m not naive. It’s different playing Celtic with 50/60,000, lovely beautiful pitch, everyone behind them. So your best chance is when you’re at home. “We go to Celtic Park on the 1st of February, so we can test the water there and how far we have come when we go back there and see if we can do something similar to that. “That would be a little bit of a guide for us. We’re not that far away from being a decent, right good side.” Falkirk travel to the capital city to face McGlynn’s former club Hearts at Tynecastle in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup this Saturday.

“We Were Second Best” – Martin O’Neill Delivers Honest Verdict After Victory Over Falkirk

Interim Celtic manager Martin O’Neill admitted that Falkirk were the better side despite losing 1-0 to the Northern Irishman’s side at The Falkirk Stadium. It is the second clean sheet in a row for the Parkhead club since the 73-year-old returned again on a temporary basis following the sacking of Wilfried Nancy, after eight games without a shutout during the Frenchman’s disastrous reign. However, O’Neill believes that Falkirk can be disappointed in failing to come away with any points from tonight’s defeat. He said: “We didn’t play well in the game. “We saw it through, and we can play much, much better. It just seems strange in the contrast where we were so good on Saturday [against Dundee United] and tentative tonight. “I think Falkirk would have found themselves really unlucky to be behind at half-time in the game. I thought we pressed a bit better in the second half, but overall we didn’t play well in the game.” Falkirk had three big chances in the first half, including an open goal miss from Kyrell Wilson, and then Kasper Schmeichel produced a massive save to deny Ethan Hamilton in the dying minutes of the second. O’Neill insists stronger performances will come. “I just thought, certainly in the first half, we were second best and we seemed devoid of that real energy that was necessary. “But obviously I am delighted to have won the game because we will play better. “The most important thing, I’ve said this often enough, is winning, tonight particularly, Hearts have won as well too and our margin of error is very small and we dropped a lot of points. “So winning tonight was the most important thing. We can play much better and we will” Falkirk are one of three Premiership sides who play on an artificial surface, but O’Neill was not prepared to use the pitch as an excuse for Celtic’s struggles today. “The circumstances today are totally different. We’re playing on an artificial surface. “I’ve no problem with that because they played pretty well on the artificial surface, or scored four goals anyway, against Livingston a couple weeks ago. “But things were different, and you have to adjust, you have to adapt, you have to do all of these things. It’s the nature of the game for the players, they have to dig in, and for that I’m eternally grateful.” Celtic have been linked with Croatian striker Franko Kovacevic from Slovenian side NK Celje, with the 26-year-old scoring 25 goals in 28 appearances so far this season. However, the Celtic manager remained coy on how far down the line a deal may be. “I’m probably sure I have done [looked at Kovacevic], I’ve only looked at about four and a half thousand at this minute! “You can tell a mile away we need to get a centre forward. Young Johnny Kenny has done really fine in the games but I think that’s really harsh to put that sort of pressure on a young lad.” Celtic are back in action this Sunday at Rugby Park as they face non-league Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup.