Celtic forward Anthony Stokes is keen to put an end to the Bhoys' Scottish League Cup drought as they look to beat Rangers in the semi-final of the tournament on Sunday and ensure passage to the final.
The Hoops have won the tournament 14 times, but despite their dominance in Scotland they have not picked up the trophy since 2009.
Since then they have come within touching distance of winning it twice, only to let it slip on both occasions. However, the 26-year-old hopes that Ronny Deila's team can make amends and win the trophy for the first time since 2009.
He also wants the match against rivals Rangers to be the instigator, to motivate them to a win in the final.
The focus for now though remains on Sunday's match, the former Arsenal player insists, as they look to ensure passage to the final by putting their Old Firm foes to the sword.
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“2009 is definitely too long for Celtic, but I don’t think you can worry about anything else going into the game", Stokes told his club's official site.
“You need to settle quickly and win the battle because it’s going to be a scrap for every ball and then we need to play our football after that.
"We just need to be fully focused on the game and not worry about anything else."
Stokes also hopes that winning a trophy early in the season will give them confidence going into the rest of the season.
“It would be great to win a trophy early on because it can give you confidence going into the rest of the season but, as I’ve said, we want to win everything.
"So if we can win the League Cup then we can kick on in the league and put a bit more focus on the Scottish Cup going towards the end of the season."
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