There is a version of this Scottish Cup final that has already been written in certain corners of Scottish football. Celtic win the trophy, Martin O'Neill lifts it with Callum McGregor, and everybody talks about what might have been had the Parkhead legend arrived in Glasgow a few months earlier. Neil Lennon has read that version, and he is not particularly amused by it.

"I've seen a lot of comments this week about Martin picking up the trophy with Callum McGregor," the Dunfermline manager said ahead of Saturday's 15:00 BST showpiece at Hampden Park. "I wouldn't dismiss us. We're the underdogs, but underdogs bite."

Lennon is 54 now, with enough miles on the clock to know the difference between an occasion and an opportunity. He played under O'Neill at Celtic, won trophies alongside him, and has spent much of the build-up to this final fending off questions about what it means to face his old manager on the grandest domestic stage Scottish football offers. He finds some of the surrounding narrative — including being referred to as O'Neill's apprentice — frankly disrespectful, though he is canny enough to let that irritation work in his favour.

"Yes, it just adds fuel for me, so it's great," he said when asked whether the dismissive tone in the build-up had annoyed him. "It's disrespectful which, again, I don't mind. We will come — I wouldn't say brimming full of confidence — but with an inner belief that we can achieve something here. We're under no illusions as to how difficult that's going to be."

A route to the final built on belief

Dunfermline's journey to Hampden has not been an accident. The Championship side have already beaten three Premiership clubs on the way to the final — Hibernian, Aberdeen and Falkirk — and Lennon believes that run has done something important to the dressing room. It has built a conviction, quietly and without fanfare, that they can compete with the best Scotland has to offer.

That conviction arrives at Hampden slightly bruised, admittedly. Promotion to the top flight slipped away only last week, with Dunfermline losing their play-off semi-final against Partick Thistle. A different manager might have needed time to reset the group emotionally. Lennon, for his part, appears to have channelled the disappointment into something sharper.

He also confirmed on the eve of the final that striker Zak Rudden is expected to be available after more than three months sidelined through injury, while goalkeeper Aston Oxborough returns on loan from Motherwell following a temporary recall by his parent club. Having those options back gives the squad a little more depth than they might have had even a fortnight ago.

The O'Neill question

Lennon's relationship with O'Neill is, by any measure, one of the more fascinating subplots in Scottish football this season. He has spoken of him with genuine warmth — noting what O'Neill achieved at Leicester City, where he won three League Cup finals and secured multiple top-ten Premier League finishes on a fraction of the budget available to rival managers. "If that was a modern-day manager now, he'd be going to Bayern Munich or somewhere like that," Lennon said.

Yet affection does not mean deference. Lennon has managed Celtic himself. He knows how these occasions feel from the other side. And while he acknowledges it will be surreal to line up in the opposite dugout to the man who shaped so much of his career, he is not about to let sentiment cloud his preparation.

"It's not a day out for us," he said, simply and firmly. Whether Scottish football's wider audience is ready to believe him is another matter. Come Saturday afternoon at Hampden, the Pars will be doing their level best to make the point with actions rather than words.

Frequently asked

What time does the Scottish Cup final kick off on Saturday?
The Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Dunfermline Athletic kicks off at 15:00 BST on Saturday 23 May at Hampden Park.
How did Dunfermline get to the Scottish Cup final?
Dunfermline reached the final by beating three Premiership sides along the way — Hibernian, Aberdeen and Falkirk — despite being a Championship club themselves.
Has Neil Lennon managed Celtic before?
Yes. Lennon was both a player and manager at Celtic Park, winning league titles as a captain under Martin O'Neill and later returning to manage the club. Facing O'Neill in Saturday's final adds a personal dimension to the occasion.