My little white lie to boss left me struggling against Killie
SAYS GRAEME SHINNIE
HIS team had just shown great battling spirit and no little finesse in roaring back from a goal down to inflict a rare defeat on Steve Clarke’s Kilmarnock.
For Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie, however, victory over a revitalised Killie in January was one of the lowest moments of his entire career.
Floored by a sickness bug the day before, he was so desperate to take his regular place in the Dons midfield that he lied about his condition to manager Derek McInnes.
And Shinnie felt so awful after 90 minutes that even goals from Adam Rooney, Niall McGinn and a stunning Scott McKenna 40-yarder in a 3-1 home win could not act as a pick-me-up.
After spending years coping with Crohn’s disease, it says much about the 26-year-old’s dedication that he rates that afternoon as a career nadir.
While the Dons skipper is hoping for another win against the same opponents today, he hopes their Scottish Cup quarter-final at Pittodrie will be a match he can actually enjoy.
‘The last time we played Killie was one of the worst days of my career,’ he recalled.
‘I was ill the whole day Friday, so I was sent home from training because there was a sickness bug going around the place.
‘I shouldn’t have played but I said on the Friday night that I was available. I don’t know why I did it but that’s just me. I can’t say no. I tried to battle my way through it.
‘So I shouldn’t really have been involved and it was a struggle. Thankfully, we were able to come out with the win. But it was really tough that day and Killie showed us what we can expect again this weekend.
‘We were slack in the first half in that game and we could have been a couple of goals down. But the manager gave us a good team talk at half-time.
‘He made it clear our standards hadn’t been good enough and we were letting ourselves down.’
While Kilmarnock are a team on the up under Clarke, Aberdeen remain a thorn in their sides.
The Granite City men have not lost to their Ayrshire rivals in their seven previous Scottish Cup meetings.
They have also won 14 and drawn one of their last 15 league meetings.
Even so, that Pittodrie defeat has been Killie’s only loss in 14 matches. And Shinnie insisted that last year’s Scottish Cup runners-up will be wary of a team transformed by Clarke as the Dons aim to win the tournament for the first time since 1990.
‘We always plan on trying to do as well as we can in the cups and we are one game away from going to Hampden now.
‘But it will be tough because Kilmarnock come here in good form and their confidence is sky high.
‘Steve Clarke has them playing good football and picking up results. The difference in them nowadays is they are playing with confidence, and that’s a massive thing in football.
‘For example, we have played Ross County a few times this year and you can sense their confidence isn’t great. But Killie are the opposite of that.
‘They are flying high. Everyone wants the ball and is prepared to try things. You see the confidence flowing through them.
‘We will have to make sure our performance is up to standard if we’re going to get through.
‘We want to go one better than last season and win the final this time. Losing to Celtic last year was a tough one to take’
Killie boss Clarke, meanwhile, is hopeful of a large travelling support at Pittodrie despite the daunting prospect of a 340-mile trip during the snow storm currently crippling Scotland.
‘If the game is on, then the supporters will be there,’ said the former West Bromwich Albion boss. ‘The fans are excited, which is good because it means the team has excited them over the previous weeks.
‘It’s massive. It’s a cup quarterfinal and, with two wins, you are at Hampden Park for the final.
‘Once you get to this stage you can start to smell the final and that’s good for everybody.
‘The match looks as though it will go ahead. The only doubt would be any travel problems for the supporters to get to the game.
‘I think the main roads are pretty clear now so, hopefully, it goes ahead.
‘Aberdeen will take care of the pitch and stadium and we look forward to a good cup tie.’
Killie’s hopes of reaching the last four have been dealt a blow after key midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu was ruled out with a groin injury.
But Clarke is taking comfort from his belief that the stakes are higher for Aberdeen today.
‘I’m sure Derek and his team won’t underestimate us,’ he said.
‘He knows that they had to work hard in both previous games to beat us and there’s a lot more pressure on Aberdeen than Kilmarnock.
‘If our cup run stopped with an away defeat to Aberdeen in the quarter-final, we would be disappointed.
‘If Aberdeen’s cup run stops with a defeat at home to Kilmarnock in the quarter-final then they would be more than disappointed.’