I’LL LEAVE ON A HIGH
KENNY McLEAN is desperate to deliver the Scottish Cup and a secondplace finish for the Aberdeen fans before he quits Pittodrie in the summer.
The midfielder, out of contract at the end of the season, will bring his time at the Dons to a close after three-and-a-half years as clubs begin to circle in the hope of signing him.
But McLean said: “I don’t want to look too far ahead. We want to win as many games as we can. We want to stay in the position we’re in.
“Obviously to leave on the back of a cup win would be excellent but that’s a long way away. We need to look at what’s in front of us and that’s what everyone will continue to do.”
McLean, who has won two Scotland caps while at Pittodrie, was coy about where he could be headed in the summer.
He said: “I want to play at as high a level as I can. Every Scottish player wants to be involved in the national side but right now the focus is on what’s ahead of us.
“The performances from me and the team have shown it’s not affected us.
“There are boys up and down the country who are in the same position but we’re professionals and we need to do our jobs. My job right now is to do as much as I can for Aberdeen.
“I’m planning to be here till the end of the season and I’m not going to plan any different. Right now my focus is totally on Aberdeen, 100 per cent.
“If I keep doing as much as I can and playing as well as I can it’s only going to benefit me and the club. It’s a win-win.”
Last weekend’s 4-1 rout of Hibs at Pittodrie, on the back of victories against St Johnstone and Dundee – both away from home – means there is a bounce at Pittodrie going into today’s clash as the Reds seek to make up for a dreadful performance when Celtic thumped them 3-0 in the Granite City in October.
McLean said: “We didn’t lay a glove on them. We let them have everything their own way.
“We didn’t put enough pressure on them and they came up here and did what they liked at times on the pitch. That’s not what should be happening. We know it wasn’t good enough.
“At the moment, the way we’ve been playing, the way we’ve been pressing, the way we’ve been keeping the ball, everything’s going well.
“It was the same going into the last game against Celtic but this time feels different and we’re really confident.”
Dons No.2 Tony Docherty admits the coaching staff have done their homework on today’s opponents.
He said: “We looked at their previous five games and look for any patterns that are there.
“We’ve got to realise what Celtic are but like any team they have weaknesses. We have to try to exploit their weaknesses while also looking after their strengths.”