It’s changed days, right enough. Time was I used to find myself up at Park Gardens because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut when I was asked about decisions that went against Celtic.

Those of a certain vintage will recall my finest moment when I claimed that if it was up to me I’d be submitting an application to play in England as I felt we weren’t getting a fair crack of the whip from officials in Scotland. 

That one came after an ill-tempered Skol Cup final in 1986 when David Syme – who later admitted he called it wrong – awarded Rangers a penalty and they won 2-1.

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Losing a final against your bitter rivals to a poor decision infuriated me. It is long gone now but I was clearly onto something – Celtic have been talking about getting into England ever since!

But here we are and I find myself not getting into bother with questions on why Celtic didn’t get a call but why they did. Live long enough and everything turns on its head, eh?

To be honest, the interpretation of both decisions that Celtic got at Hampden and at Fir Park entirely comes down to what side of the fence you sit on. Technically they are both penalties.

Equally, they are both soft.

I actually thought the one at Fir Park – Celtic’s first penalty in the league this season – when Callum McGregor went down was a stronger case than the one at Hampden but by the letter of the law the referee in both instances was right to award them.

Not that I would expect Motherwell to share that view.

But in this day and age, whatever challenge you make in the box, you must be sure that you are going to take the ball.

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On Wednesday night, McGregor was going nowhere. The keeper had made a save, the ball was out and the only place McGregor could have gone was the byline. 

The Motherwell defender was over exuberant in the way he went into the tackle. I do still maintain that it is soft – but in the cold light of day, there was a foul. 

In a situation like that you need to get tight but almost without contact unless you are absolutely sure you are going to take the ball fairly.

There is a fine line between diving and forwards looking for any kind of advantage that they can get.

And there seemed something inevitable about the fact that it would be Scott Sinclair who would get up and dispatch the penalty.

It is just part and parcel of the game that Sinclair took dog’s abuse as he came onto the pitch but like most big game players, he was entirely unfazed by it.

He kept his never to slot the penalty away without any hesitation. He hasn’t been in the same form that he was throughout last term but it takes belief and confidence to step up in a situation like that.

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On Sunday at Hampden I had some sympathy for Motherwell because as well as losing the penalty they lost a man. 

And while I did think that technically it was a penalty, losing a player too seemed a tough one to take.

However, having given the penalty, the referee then had no choice but to then follow through with the red card.

What I would say, too, is that amongst all the chat of that one Celtic were well in control of the game at that stage.

Granted, Craig Gordon had had a wonderful save from Louis Moult and the penalty did alter the complexion of the game entirely. But Celtic had taken the lead through a cracking strike from James Forrest and just seemed to have moved up a gear.

I am not sure that there was ever any evidence on offer to suggest they were in any danger of losing the game. 

Read more: Davie Hay: James Forrest has started this season the way Scott Sinclair started last year

Given they had gone into the encounter on the back of the 7-1 walloping they took in Paris, you have to give credit to the players for the manner in which they were able to get back into their domestic groove.

It is not easy being in a game like the one they were in Paris, mentally or physically.

To be able to get back on the park and claim a fourth successive domestic trophy deserves acknowledgement. 

Still, it means that the stage is set on Saturday for yet another meeting between these two, the third in six days.

I don’t know if they are sick of the sight of one another just yet but I’d suspect that Motherwell are pretty sick of the sight of Celtic.