Sutty saw red for reckless lunge. He apologised as I left pitch. There was no malice so we shook and moved on. Today a challenge like that is analysed to death. They’d want him hung, drawn and quartered
On the face of it, there’s only one outcome at Hampden.
An all- conquering Celtic side are going for a treble Treble and Brendan Rodgers’ squad have the means and the tools to do it.
But, in a final, absolutely nothing is inevitable and I experienced first hand what can happen when you get too far ahead of yourself.
Back in 2001 my Kilmarnock side played Celtic in the League Cup Final. We were 1- 0 down after an hour when Chris Sutton and I chased a loose ball.
There was a coming together and ref Hugh Dallas showed Chris a red card for a reckless challenge.
It was naughty but it was a part of the game back then and he was the first to apologise after the match.
When I walking off the park, Chris came to find me. He apologised and said sorry, which showed his class.
There were no ill feeling, no grumping or moaning. I accepted the apology as I didn’t believe there was any malicious intent.
He said he was trying to protect himself as he thought I was going to go into the challenge high so he decided to go in higher.
It wasn’t that long ago but I feel football has changed even in the last two decades or so when it comes to these type of incidents.
There has been a shift away from being allowed to put your hands up and admit to an honest mistake.
This was two players going into a challenge where one of us was going to get hurt and the other was trying to protect himself.
These days an incident like that would be blown out of proportion, picked over and analysed to death with people wanting the offender hung, drawn and quartered.
That’s why I long for the days you could say sorry, move on and it’s done and dusted.
Once Sutton had been sent off the game was there for us. We were well in it and now we had a man advantage.
That was where getting ahead of ourselves came into it. I just hadn’t factored in how good a Celtic team we were facing with the likes of Paul Lambert, Lubomir Moravcik, Neil Lennon and a certain Henrik Larsson in it. While we believed we were going to go on and defeat the 10 men, Larsson helped himself to a hat-trick and we came off the pitch in a state of shock. Although I ’m clear players can’t get ahead of themselves, there’s no room for sel f doubt either. It can be a curse and the biggest factor in walking away a winner or a loser. The big question is, are Aberdeen Betfred Cup Final believers? There’s no doubt the Dons can beat Celtic this afternoon – but do they really believe it? This is a game for being brave, for standing up to the challenge. Derek McInnes will have a gameplan and for the Dons it’s about following that to the letter and not panicking if things go against them. Celtic are capable of having an off day and Aberdeen have match winners in Niall McGinn, Gary Mackay-Steven and James Wilson all capable of stealing the show. I’ve heard people suggest last Saturday’s defeat for Aberdeen at
Motherwell was the worst possible preparation for today’s final. That is nonsense.
If you are coming off the back of a bad result then you want a chance to rectify it and there’s no better place to do that than in a cup final against the best side in the country.
Every player should be up for every game they play in but we have all had the occasional game where you just want it out of the way so you can move on.
Who knows how many of the Dons side felt that way last weekend at Fir Park. It’s human nature to feel that way ahead of a massive game like the one they face today.
It’s a select few in Scottish football who actually manage to get their hands on a winner’s medal.
Over the last two years only Celtic player have experienced that.
My loser’s medal from 2001 sits in a box in my cupboard.
I have the memories so I don’t need anything to show for it.
The memorabilia is for my kids to enjoy when I’m gone.