FIGHT FOR 2nd NOT DON AND DUSTED
Caretaker Nic plea as Gers and Dons gear up for final-day nerve-shredder aberdeen..1 rangers..1
Aberdeen, Rangers & Hibs still have chance to take runners-up slot after draw at Pittodrie
JIMMY NICHOLL last night insisted Rangers have the fighting spirit to snatch second spot and salvage some pride out of the season.
The stand-in Gers boss hailed his players’ character to battle
back from a goal down to grab a point at Pittodrie that keeps them in the race to be best of the rest – and tees up new gaffer Steven Gerrard for a crack at Europe.
Now Nicholl’s challenged his troops to lay it all on the line against Hibs at Easter Road on Sunday as Aberdeen sign off against champions Celtic on flag day at Parkhead.
But they’ll have to do so without key men Alfredo Morelos and Ross McCrorie – who are suspended – and an injured Graham Dorrans.
McCrorie grabbed last night’s leveller and dedicated it to his terminally ill gran, while Nicholl paid tribute to the youngster for leading by example.
He said: “Character and desire are the words. That is what you are looking for in players all the time.
“Whatever has happened has happened in previous games and in the first half.
“There are certain games they go about and I can’t defend them. You can’t defend the two Celtic games. You can’t defend that. You just wonder why. But that’s gone and all we’re trying to do is restore a bit of pride.
“That’s all they can do – restore a bit of pride, win a game of football, which I thought they should’ve done tonight, win on Sunday and hopefully finish second and get into Europe. Whatever happens in the summer happens.
“People look at Rangers as a club and turn around and say, ‘So what if they’re second, what sort of achievement is that?’ But it is. Celtic are away up there at this moment in time so you have to be the best of the rest if you possibly can.
“It would eat away at me and it would hurt if it didn’t happen.”
While pleased with the fightback, Nicholl was raging at Dons’ first-half penalty as Morelos was punished following a clash with Kenny McLean. He said: “We controlled the game then there was the penalty. “It’s all right us seeing it at the side and knowing it wasn’t a penalty – I’m frustrated at the side. “But they haven’t seen it. They had to get on with it but they didn’t. They got frustrated with the decision and lost their way. That was the annoying thing. We had to get them in at half-time and get the football head back on again. “They did that and it was a great 45 minutes. There was a determination, solid at the back, breaking from the middle of the park. “It was a good goal from Ross, a determined young player who went with conviction. It got us into the game at 1-1 and we dominated the second half.”
It was a bittersweet moment for 20-year-old McCrorie who dedicated his goal to his ill gran.
He said: “We didn’t show up in the first half but the second half was a lot better.
“The ball came in and it was 50-50 between me and Scott McKenna. I managed to get a head on it. That goal was for my gran. She was watching and she’s not got long to live so that was for her.”
Dons boss Derek McInnes admitted he was gutted his side stuttered in the second half but insisted they’re still in the fight for second.
He said: “It would be hard to say Rangers didn’t deserve a point. The performance was good and the form has been decent going into the split. We had to show we could lay a glove on Rangers and we did that for long spells.
“We’re going to have to bring a level of performance against Celtic to have a chance to finish second.
“But that’s 70 points for the fourth year in a row.”