And speaking to Celtic TV after the game, the Celtic manager said: "It was a game of two halves. We weren’t anywhere near good enough in the first half and I thought Hearts were the better team.

"We spoke about it, and we tried to address the tactical issues that we were having, and the other parts that needed to be addressed. In the second half we saw a totally different team. The changes made a massive difference, not only in the performance but also the final result.

'I could recognise a Celtic team in the second half. Hearts aren’t an easy team to score against, so five goals is incredible really.'

“Hopefully we have learned a lesson and we don’t play like we did in the first 45 minutes because I don’t think that is up to the standards of Celtic.”

For the start of the second-half, the Hoops boss introduced Hana Kerner and Shen Menglu, and they both got on the scoresheet.

“You could say they were super-subs,” he said. “Both got on the scoresheet, and I think they both had a massive impact, especially with the first goal from Hana Kerner.

"That was the one which changed the game. It calmed our nerves a little bit, and then the speed of our play was superb after that.

“We moved the ball very well in the second half, and created a lot of chances, and we could have even scored more goals.

'I’m delighted we will be at Hampden, which was the goal, and five goals on top of that was incredible.'

“We are the current holders of the competition and we want to retain our cup.

"We won it for the first time in our history last year, and now we want our second. We know it is not going to be easy, but that is our dream.”

Fran Alonso delighted with players' response after early cup setback