COURAGE BELIEF FIGHT
Fergie drilled it into us. As players we had to embrace it. It is how you win in Glasgow
Everyone says they can’t beat Rangers but I heard all that when I played
THERE are contenders for specialist subject in any future Mastermind appearance for Willie Miller. The first would be the Laws of Game and Their Application. The second would be How To Win In Glasgow.
The latter is conspicuously relevant on the eve of a League Cup semi-final where Aberdeen, dogged by accusations about their mettle in big matches, play Rangers.
It may be comforting for the present batch of Dons that the club’s greatest-ever player has not only heard such accusations in his own career, but overcame them with a flourish. The record will state that Miller won three Scottish titles, four Scottish Cups and three League Cups. All prised out of Glasgow.
‘We were familiar with Rangers and Celtic,’ says the one-time-boy from Bridgeton with a laconic air. ‘We had a manager who came from Glasgow. The focus Sir Alex Ferguson had was straightforward: If you want to win anything, you have to win in Glasgow.
‘It is an obvious statement because all the cup finals are down there and it is where Rangers and Celtic play. But it was something we had to do. It was drilled into us.’
Miller, at 63, has been almost half a century in Aberdeen but he retains many of the traits of the lad who left home at 14. They helped him to forge a career. They aid him now in a career as a pundit. They can be encapsulated in a word: Belief.
‘It was a tough environment as a youngster but football helped me because you were respected for your ability,’ he adds.
‘I signed for Aberdeen as a schoolboy, so that helped you get through things. It gave you something to focus on because it could be too easy to be distracted into things that could get you into a bit of bother.
‘It makes you a bit streetwise. It toughens you up. It’s not semidetached home syndrome. You had to fight your way through and have a focus.’
He takes this uncompromising attitude into his punditry, writing for the Evening Express in Aberdeen and commentating for the BBC. ‘I like that people want to listen to an opinion,’ he says. But is he ever uncomfortable about criticising old friends such as Alex McLeish or the team that he captained to such glory.
‘No, never,’ Miller says simply. ‘I must give an opinion that is not biased. I have links with the club and former players such as Gordon (Strachan) and Alex but I have to be honest and I hope the club, ex-team-mates or players knows that it is an honest opinion.
‘I am not trying to be controversial. The BBC and the Express want an opinion. That is what I give. I have a responsibility to my employers that it is unbiased. If there is something that needs to be said about the club or personalities, it is up to them to cope with that.’
Miller accepted in his career that criticism came with the armband. He adds: ‘Alex (McLeish) told a story the other night about how we beat Rangers and one of their players said to him: “You never win when it matters”.
‘People forget that. I had my share of losses before we came to Glasgow and won regularly. You can take that like a mouse or you can prove everyone wrong. It’s only the players who can do it. It’s about belief.
‘Take this weekend. Most of Scotland don’t believe Aberdeen can do it. But that’s not unusual. I have been there myself. You have to grab the chance.’
Miller arrived at a Dons side that had just won the Scottish Cup in 1970. He was part of the team that won the League Cup in November 1976. But further, sustained glory seemed to be stymied by failure in Glasgow.
Until two days in April 1980. On April 5, Aberdeen travelled to Celtic Park and won 2-1. On April 23, they pitched up again in the east end of Glasgow and won 3-1. The reward, ultimately, was a league title. The legacy was an unwavering faith in their ability to come to Glasgow and leave with points or a cup. ‘We had to go to Celtic twice. Every commentator to a man decided it was impossible for a team to go to Celtic Park and win in quick succession when it really mattered. It could not be done, we were told,’ Miller reflects.
‘We did it. That gave me the greatest satisfaction. We believed and we performed.’
Miller says the subsequent title was physical evidence of that mindset allied to ability. ‘We found the formula to go down and turn over Celtic and Rangers when that was alien to them. Their fans were not used to it,’ he says.
The previous non-Old Firm side to win the championship had been Kilmarnock 25 years earlier.
‘It was a huge mental barrier to get over but, once you did, it gave you more belief,’ he insists. ‘You suddenly realised anything was possible.’
But what was the formula and can it be passed on to the Aberdeen side of today?
‘You have to treat it differently,’ he says. ‘All games need to be won. But if you are going to Celtic, Rangers or Hampden, it’s different. It will be tough, extra tough. You won’t have to be as good as the opposition — but better than them, otherwise you won’t win down there because there are so many other factors.’
This seems an echo of the Fergie mentality when he believed that the media, officials and the world in general had a west-coast bias.
‘The atmosphere in the bus told you these were the big games,’ continues Miller, recalling the trips of the early 1980s. ‘There had to be
a certain determination and a bit of arrogance to stand up to whatever would be thrown your way. We had to overcome that.’
So what took Aberdeen’s players through the storm? ‘It is a simple game, but it is overcomplicated by many, particularly nowadays,’ he says. ‘You have abilities, character, strengths — and you must play to them.
‘They go on about leaders and captains and what they say in dressing rooms. For me, the most important thing is how you handle yourself on the pitch. You must have the courage to use your ability on the highest stage.’
Miller had a simple philosophy before stepping out at Hampden, Celtic Park or Ibrox. ‘You have to tell yourself: “This is what I was made for”. Embrace it. You are in the game to perform on days when cups are won or leagues decided.
‘Some players can go through their career and never lift a trophy, so you have to grasp that chance when it is offered. We had that belief. Players have to say: “This is where I want to be”. I didn’t want to leave anything out there. You need both the ability and the mindset to play in these games.’
Derek McInnes and his Aberdeen side arrive in Glasgow accompanied by the same jibes that were once aimed at McLeish and Miller. They may be haunted by a poor display against Motherwell at Hampden just six months ago when they were walloped 3-0.
But Miller insists: ‘They are being told by everyone that they can’t win. But I heard all that, too, as a player. They can do it against Rangers. They have not been great this season but this is a different stage.
‘Rangers have been unconvincing at times. Yes, they have been good, too, but not on every occasion. There is more than a chance for Aberdeen.’
Miller cites the determining factor: ‘The only way to do it is to believe in yourself. It is now down to the players. You have to have faith in yourself, your ability, your determination. You have to turn it around. It can be done. We did it.’
This is a nod to the authentic specialist subject of Willie Miller. The lesson is that history had to be made. Miller had the answer to the toughest of questions in this unforgiving category.