FORMER Celtic forward Pierre van Hooijdonk had the fortune of scoring the winner in a historic Scottish Cup final.

And the Dutch master is confident the current side at Parkhead have the quality of marksmen who can do exactly the same thing this weekend.

The 6ft 4in striker headed home the winning and only goal of the showpiece against Airdrieonians at Hampden back in 1995.

The club he had joined from NAC Breda for £1.5million earlier that year had won the competition many times before in their history.

However, that 1-0 triumph ended an agonising six-year trophy drought for a club that had survived the threat of extinction during that difficult spell.

Van Hooijdonk went on to win many more trophies in many more countries during his long and eventful career – including the Uefa Cup with Feyenoord in 2002.

But that win over Airdrie remains extra special to the 43-year-old for many, many reasons.

"It was the first trophy in my career," he explained as he returned to Glasgow ahead of the William Hill Scottish Cup final on Sunday.

"Scoring the goal that won it made it even more special. On top of all that, it came after a period when Celtic had not won anything for six years.

"They had lost the League Cup final to Raith Rovers, a First Division club, a month before I arrived. That was a major disappointment for the club.

"So reaching the Scottish Cup final that year and actually winning it was amazing. I can still remember the looks of joy on the faces of the crowd that day.

"The manager, Tommy Burns, was Celtic through and through. So were many of the players, the likes of Peter Grant and Paul McStay, for example.

"You realised what it meant to them. I have scored better goals, but not many more important."

Van Hooijdonk, now a television pundit in his native Holland, still takes an interest in how his former club are performing.

And he believes that in Gary Hooper, Georgios Samaras and Anthony Stokes, they have players who can emulate his final feat and help Celtic land a double when they take on Hibs on Sunday.

"The strikers at the club have done really well," he enthused. "Importantly, they have scored in Europe.

"That is the level you are looking to to see how good a player is these days.

"Georgios has done especially well. I know him from his time at Heerenveen. He was a good player then, but he was a boy.

"I watched him playing over here a couple of years ago and it was obvious to me that he had become a man.

"He has developed into a very mature player."

Van Hooijdonk was delighted to see his former club excel in the Champions League this term and reach the last 16 for only the third time.

He believes that if they can continue to perform well in Europe going forward then domestic dominance will come easily to them.

He remarked: "I am not surprised that Celtic have become champions.

"A club of such stature should do that, especially now that Rangers are not in the top flight.

"In Europe, though, they have been fantastic. The Barca game was magnificent. At the time, that Barcelona team was unbeatable.

"Beating them 2-1 at Celtic Park in a crazy atmosphere was something nobody would have expected to happen. It surprised the whole football world.

"If Celtic can have more European success like they have this season then they will earn a lot of money and they will be able to strengthen their squad.

"That gives them the opportunity to do even better the next year in Europe.

"I think they will win the title regularly in the coming years and continue their dominance."

Van Hooijdonk went on to play for Nottingham Forest, Vitesse, Benfica, Feyenoord and Fenerbahce after parting company with Celtic after just two seasons scoring goals across the country.

And he fears the Scottish champions will struggle to compete with the bigger clubs on the continent for players due to the financial constraints they are working under.

The Dutchman reflected: "Off the pitch, you don't get a club any bigger than Celtic. The size of the club is enormous.

"But I think it will always be interesting for players to see what they can do in a better league.

"Celtic are still not able to attract the best players in the world to Scotland. It is also not really exciting for them to come over and play because they are the only top team in the country."