Rangers and Aberdeen bosses put managerial credibility and history on line in Viaplay Cup final

They might not say it – but final is huge for Robson and Clement

It’s all about the club, all about the players, all about the fans. You could have put the kettle on for the Philippe Clement and Barry Robson diverting the attention away from themselves with such standard pre-cup final lines as matters prepare to come to the boil in the Viaplay Cup decider between their Rangers and Aberdeen teams.

The urbane Belgian and his unpretentious counterpart are right … only to an extent. Certainly, there are just so many fascinating layers to a match-up infused with an enmity unrivalled outside of the two Glasgow titans tussling that digging right down into them feels like drilling to the earth’s core. The conclusion of the first domestic competition this season presents the opportunity for the Ibrox club to claim a prize they have secured more than any team in Scottish football, yet have not added to their 27 successes since 2011. Just as it offers Aberdeen the chance to end a near-decade wait for silverware, with the three-eared League Cup trophy the country’s last honour to be bedecked in red and white, back in 2014.

Never mind that this is a final with frills to drive the anticipation of thrills. Rarely in the recent age has such an occasion being contested by two teams fresh from mighty outcomes in continental competition. The case courtesy of Thursday night seeing Rangers produce a first win over a home team on Spanish soil as they overcame Real Betis 3-2 to bag a Europa League last 16 berth. Shortly after Aberdeen’s 2-0 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt which, though coming too late to prevent them departing the Conference League, afforded them a first European success over a team from one of the traditional big five nations for 35 years.

The perceptions of Rangers manager Philippe Clement or Aberdeen's Barry Robson inevitably will be significantly altered by the time they shake hands at the end of the Viaplay Cup final. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

Yet for all these delectable ingredients, the significance of the Viaplay Cup final for the two men in the technical area provides the main course to chomp down on. Clement does not care to see the confrontation that way. But he wouldn’t, would he? He cannot engage with the notion that the stunning renaissance he has affected across his eight weeks at the helm – which could see his side leapfrog an ailing Celtic by the close of the year in a title race that appeared over on inheriting a beaten-down squad from the deposed Michael Beale – could be undermined at Hampden. It will, though, be all of that if he cannot extend his unbeaten run at the helm to 14 games on Sunday afternoon. Wherein he has the chance to become the first new Rangers manager to win silverware at the earliest opportunity since Alex McLeish 21 years ago.

A League Cup success then the gateway for the former Aberdeen captain to rack up five straight domestic honours. Pivotal, pah, is Clement’s assessment of the final, the imposing former defender drawing himself up to his full length in making the bold pronouncement that he knows what he will do with the Ibrox team in the long term. “I know we are going to win trophies,” he said. “That I know; I don’t have any doubt about that. But it is not a guarantee for tomorrow. That’s something else … whatever happens, it’s not decisive for the rest of the season. Some people try to say this game is decisive for the season. No.

“I don’t want my players busy with noise or perception. That’s the job of journalists, and it’s important because it’s part of our business and it’s why supporters football — they have discussions about why one player is good and one is bad. But I want my players to stay away from the noise. They have to believe in themselves and give everything. I don’t think there’s anyone who is at their best every day. People can have a bad day or bad luck—with players it is the same. I want players who go full out every time and without fear. If they make a mistake they should react directly in a positive way and with confidence.”

Clement could be describing an Aberdeen who have been the great unpredictables under Robson this season. Excelling against Frankfurt and for long spells in their two European encounters with PAOK, no team has come closer to handing the Belgian a domestic loss than they did at Pittodrie three weeks ago - a 94th minute penalty required for Rangers to scrape a 1-1 draw. A result that means Robson’s record against the club’s bitterest rivals across his 10 months at the helm reads two wins, a draw and a defeat. One of the victories, the 3-1 in the environs of Ibrox at the end of September, administering the last rights for Beale’s ill-starred 10 month tenure.

Now Robson finds himself at a fork in the road. He has the opportunity to become the club’s first Aberdonian in sole charge of team affairs to secure silverware – Jocky Scott doing so as co-manager with the more front-of-house Alex Smith in the cup double-winning season of 1990-91. “That is why I understand the fans more,” said the 45-year-old. “They are a demanding lot because I am one. That is why I understand the fans more. Some other managers might come in and think ‘wow’ but I know and I know what they are because I am one. I was born in Aberdeen and brought up in Inverurie. I know what it means to all the people who live here. I am not even thinking about that just now.”

Yet, privately he might have need to consider the alternative to prevailing over a side that his accordion-style approach – squeezing the play out of possession to suck opponents’ in while looking to break quickly on the counter – has proved problematic for. If Robson does not earn a special place in the club’s history, as well as setting up the demands for only a third open-top bus parade down Union Street in the past 33 years, the focus will quickly shift to his role in Aberdeen occupying an unpalatable 10th place in the Premiership, despite boasting the country’s third biggest budget. Beyond the bauble at stake, managerial credibility firmly goes on the line at Hampden.