Rangers v Aberdeen match preview
By: j | January 23rd, 2009Following Aberdeen’s 4-2 victory over Celtic, the Rangers have crept to within only two points of the SPL top spot. Their visit to Pittodrie is a critical test if they are to overtake Celtic but they will need a hearty performance if they overturn their win-less streak in Aberdeen which hasn’t seen a victory since December 23, 2006.
However Jimmy Calderwood’s resurgent side is far from hospitable and hungry to continue its winning ways:
“Not since the days of the great man from Govan has an Aberdeen manager won back-to-back games against the Old Firm here and I’d like to add that to my CV.
“I am not going to say we will do the Old Firm double, but what I will say is that our confidence has taken a massive boost and the team is playing well. We have the quality to win but so do Rangers. Walter [Smith] will have been alerted by our performance against Celtic and he’ll know how difficult it will be to get a result here.
“It was special to get my first victory against Celtic at Pittodrie and now I want to take that on by beating Rangers then finishing third to book another great European adventure.”
Realizing the Dons billowing confidence, Walter Smith noted they face a formidable challenge:
“We couldn’t face a harder game than we’re getting tomorrow if you consider that Aberdeen are more confident than they’ve been for a number of seasons.
“It’s a huge challenge for us. Pittodrie is a place where we haven’t done well in recent seasons anyway.
“When the teams lying second and third play each other, there’s usually a lot at stake and that’s the case in this match.
“I don’t think it’s just about what Aberdeen have done in the last six or seven games that has impressed me.
“Jimmy deserves a lot of credit because he has lost players in the last couple of transfer windows and I think people underestimate the effect that has on teams.
“If you look at this transfer window, they’ve not lost anybody and that has allowed them to bring a consistency to their squad which they’re benefitting from hugely.”
On the injury front, Walter Smith is bolstered with Saša Papac returning following his red-card being rescinded but Kevin Thomson, Kyle Lafferty and Maurice Edu are out. Aberdeen is near fully-fit with only Jamie Smith missing.
Nacho Novo is adamant the Rangers are focused on grabbing three points at the troublesome Pittodrie confines:
“We’ve lost a lot of points there but we just need to go there, face up to them and try to do our best to win.
“We will work hard and try to be mentally strong – it is important that you do that when you’re at Rangers.”
Their prior match up at Pittodrie this year was a physical affair that ended in a 1-1 draw. I expect nothing less than the same tenacity as both sides are prepared to fight for points.
Category: Team News
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