AND in other news, Aberdeen are in a Scottish Cup Final on Saturday.
What with the 50th anniversary of 1967 and that dominating all sections of the media, which is only right given what those 11 Scots did, and the talk of trebles and invincibles, the men from the North East have not received as much publicity as they might have had under different circumstances.
That suits Aberdeen fine. You can tell. They don’t mind so much playing second fiddle this week, as long as they can show on Saturday that they are not there to play a bit role in some Celtic history.
Derek McInnes’s side can win this final. They will have to play their best game of the season but major trophies are not won so easily. They have the players, that’s for sure, and in Adam Rooney a fine striker whose season is going to finish with 20 goals for the third time in a row.
The Irishman is not short of confidence and believes, as do his team-mates, that a major shock is on the cards. True, they lost 3-1 to the champions at Pittodrie this month but after a dreadful start to the game – they were three goals down after 11 minutes – Aberdeen actually played well.
“Our last performance definitely shows we can get at Celtic,” said Rooney. “It also shows we can cause them a lot of problems because we put a lot of balls into their box. We also put a lot of pressure on them but they also showed in the last game what they are capable of and we have to focus on that to make sure we are protected against that threat again.
“We have to make sure we don’t give Celtic a three-goal lead because I don’t think anyone can do that. It gives us a little reminder we can cause them problems and gives us the belief we are going to the cup final to win it.
“The gaffer said before the last game that no matter what the last score was we would be going to the final and anything could happen. They are one-off occasions and it looks as if we have sold a lot of tickets, as have Celtic.
“It should be a cracking atmosphere. There are enough lads here who played in the League Cup final win. We remember what the celebrations are like and we all want that again. We have put ourselves in a position to win it and all the squad are desperate to lift the cup again.”
Aberdeen need to win a trophy if they are to become a great team. That’s not being harsh on the fine job McInnes has done, it’s just the way football is. Second in the league is the best they can hope for but what a chance this is to really make a mark.
“You want something tangible,” admitted Rooney. “You want to win things. It is OK finishing second, having a good season and setting records but the ones you remember are the ones where you pick up silverware at the end of the season. We look forward to the final and regardless of what happens.”
So what hope do Aberdeen have? Well, perhaps Celtic will get cold feet, however unlikely, and the man in red can take advantage of that.
Rooney doesn’t believe nerves are going to hit now and so his firm belief is that Aberdeen need to forget about Celtic and concentrate on what they are good at.
“Celtic will want to go the season unbeaten but we can’t affect that until the cup final,” said Rooney. “They have been under pressure all season not to drop points and to be fair and they have coped with it well.
“We know the pressures of playing for Aberdeen and it will be the same for them. We just have to make sure we can play as well as we can to get the best possible result. We don’t really look too much into spoiling their treble party because we just want to win the cup for Aberdeen. We want to win for ourselves.”
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