Aberdeen v Rangers gets juices flowing: extra spicy ingredient, visitors' mindset revealed and a lot on line
There is not a spare seat left inside Pittodrie. The sold-out signs went up on Tuesday afternoon for the third home Aberdeen match in a row. The Red Army are ready for Rangers.
Often there are fears of an incursion when their bitter rivals come to town. Rangers have held the whip hand after the Dons’ rise in the 1980s. But this match is different. Nine rounds into the Premiership campaign and it’s second-placed Aberdeen, locked out of top spot by Celtic only on goal difference, looking down on Rangers in third with a six-point lead.
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Hide AdNo matter the outcome at 10pm, Aberdeen will still be above Rangers in the league. It’s the narratives that will have shifted, though, in particular around the Ibrox side. Win and Philippe Clement’s men can talk of momentum, show signs of a team able to mount a title challenge. Draw and they could be eight points behind Celtic, who host Dundee. A defeat is unthinkable. Nine points behind the Dons would be hugely damaging.
Clement tried to play down the importance of this powderkeg showdown but the big Belgian wasn’t fooling anyone. This is a game so many people in Scotland - and beyond - are looking forward to. Aberdeen v Rangers is always one to mark on the calendar, given the historic hatred between the two teams, but given the form Jimmy Thelin has his men in, even the bookmakers are being questioned. Why are Aberdeen the 12/5 underdogs?
Rangers have already slipped up at Tynecastle, Celtic Park and Rugby Park. Impervious at Ibrox, they have been inconsistent on their travels domestically. Even the 1-0 win at Tannadice against Dundee United was jittery.
A small pocket of blue fans will cheer them on amid a sea of red at Pittodrie. They will be nervous. Rangers are still yet to convince many of their supporters. The club continues to lurch from one mini-crisis to the next, Clement is admirably fighting the flames. An interim chairman, no CEO and on Tuesday afternoon, financial results that unveil a £17million loss. Every defeat is costly in more ways than one.
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Hide AdIn contrast, Aberdeen have credit in the bank. Peter Ambrose’s late winner on Saturday against Dundee United meant a whole city is excited about this week. After Rangers’ visit, Thelin takes his team to Glasgow to face Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals on Saturday. They have yet to lose under his watch. This is such a week that could define the Dons’ season. They are playing with less pressure - but the stakes are still high.
Clement was effusive in his admiration for Aberdeen on Tuesday. He is expecting “a big battle.” Asked to analyse them, he remarked “A team who play really physical football with fast transitions using their speed in front. A very collective team with a very good team mentality. So in that way, not so much differences with what it was last season when we went there. It was quite similar in that way, but in another formation with some other players also.”
Thelin was also complimentary of his next foe. “Rangers have an experienced coach in Philippe Clement and they are a good team,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough game. Our focus is more on what we can do at Pittodrie. As usual we always respect the opponent, we are working through the week with how we’re going to prepare and try to find the weakness and the strength.”
There is an added ingredient on Wednesday night, an extra dollop of chilli powder. It comes in the shape of Rangers’ in-form 22-year-old midfielder Connor Barron, who swapped Pittodrie for Ibrox during the summer in a move that did not go down well with his former supporters. A fee for the flit has yet to be determined by a tribunal. Barron is not the only midfielder to have made such a move and he can expect the same pelters afforded to Ryan Jack when he returned in royal blue.
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Hide AdClement backed Barron to take it all in his stride. “I worked with a lot of young players in my career,” his boss said. “As a player and as a manager, he's one of the most mature that I've met at that age. So, it will be for him the first time like that. But I'm sure he's ready for that and he's just focused on football. That's his strong point also. He's only busy with football and with his ambitions to become better and become important for this club. So, I don't have any doubts about that.”
Doubts remain about his team, though. Clement still believes there is scope for even more progression with his set of players. Pittodrie under the lights is the acid test of their credentials. It was put to him that Rangers actually arrive as underdogs. “I don't speak about favourites before games, after games,” he said. “I never do. I never said it about us also. It's just about tomorrow. Who's the best team? Or who's the team who gets the points? And we're going to go full throttle to get the three points. That's our mindset.
“We have to win every game. We have to win the first game of the season and we have to win the last game of the season. So, there's no difference in that. We always want to win every game.”
This one has more than three points riding on it. It is the sort of night that could define tenures, a fork in the road for both Clement and Thelin. Even Celtic, taking on Dundee at the same time, will have half-an-eye on events in Aberdeen. It is the hottest ticket in town.
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