RANGERS v ABERDEEN
JOE LEWIS just wasn’t having the usual labels placed on Aberdeen ahead of tonight’s Scottish Cup replay against Rangers.
Underdog tags or any suggestion of an inferiority complex were off the table with the Dons keeper.
It’ll be with chests puffed out and a swagger that his side take to the Ibrox pitch.
The Englishman believes a newfound respect has been earned by recent trips to Glasgow which have shattered the glass ceiling and provided proof they are on equal terms at least with Steven Gerrard’s team.
A League Cup semi-final win last October as well as a league success in Govan two months later is the back catalogue to last week’s 1-1 cup draw at Pittodrie which sees the pair lock horns again.
But Lewis is convinced mental barriers about facing the big two have been breached with last Saturday’s draw with Celtic proving as much.
He said: “We consider ourselves as a big club, a good club and that’s how BY GORDON PARKS it should be. We don’t consider ourselves to be inferior to the big two Glasgow teams.
“I don’t know what Rangers’ thoughts are about us but we will carry ourselves with that bit of confidence and have that swagger when we get out at Ibrox. It will let them know they are in for a game.
“In my first couple of seasons, certainly against Celtic, there was a block, whether that was mentally or they were just too strong for us on each occasion.
“It was about eight or nine games that we lost on the bounce to them. But that has now certainly changed.
“Having beaten them on the last day of last season at Celtic Park and having lost to them narrowly 1-0 earlier this season it was only down to Scott Sinclair’s backheel. We have also won twice at Ibrox during my time here and beaten Rangers in a semi-final at Hampden so we have huge belief in the squad when we come down to Glasgow.
“Our recent performances and results against the Old Firm have earned that respect and I’m sure Rangers are aware of that.
“We know we have good ability in the team and I don’t believe any Aberdeen team should fear any side or any place in the future.”
The 31-year-old was talking the talk yesterday before manager Derek McInnes put his players through some final shape work at Clyde’s Broadwood Stadium. It’s a measure of the confidence with which Lewis spoke about his side’s chances this evening that he regards Aberdeen as the team who should be facing Rangers on the front foot. He said: “We felt we were the better side in the first tie at Pittodrie and if anyone should have won the game then it should have been us.
“We will carry that same confidence going into this game. We put the pressure on ourselves as a team and the manager puts it on us.
“The fans have expectations for us to win trophies for Aberdeen and we have expectations of ourselves.
“We don’t want to be just there or thereabouts, we want to be winning things at this football club. So there is pressure on both sides.
“It’s about who can deal with that, be the most consistent and produce their best performances in big games.”
A record of having seven wins and a draw from their last eight away games is also cause for optimism for the Red Army which will head to Govan with a band numbering only 972 due to ticket restrictions.
It’s that ability to produce on the road which Lewis admits is a puzzle and if he knew how to transport their form to Pittodrie then his side would