Del: Not just Gers who have game changing goalie
Derek McInnes believes Rangers keeper Allan McGregor is up there with Ibrox legend Andy Goram because he’s a game-changing goalie.
But the Aberdeen boss insists he’s got one of his own at Pittodrie with skipper Joe Lewis.
McInnes played alongside Goram at Gers in his playing days while McGregor was just a kid coming through the ranks.
The current Ibrox No.1 was in fantastic form last week, with a string of super saves as he helped Steven Gerrard’s men beat Celtic 1-0 in a massive Old Firm derby.
McInnes rates him highly but reckons Dons shotstopper Lewis is another keeper who can turn potential draws into wins.
As he prepared for today’s Premiership clash against Rangers, he said: “It’s the longevity of Allan’s performances that makes him a standout.
“And it’s the types of saves he’s making.
“He might be making fewer saves in this current Rangers team but he’s got to be ready when called on.
“Goram was an unbelievable keeper. At times, he was unbeatable in training.
“You felt with him in goal he was capable of winning you points. And I feel we’ve got that with our own keeper here at Aberdeen.
“The best keepers are not necessarily the ones who make the best saves – but they can turn one point into three and no points into one.
“If you’ve got that at goalkeeper and No.9, you can sometimes not be at your best but they get you enough points throughout a campaign.
“We’ve had that over the years with Joe.
“Andy did it for Walter Smith’s team for a long period of time and Allan has done it even as recently as last weekend against Celtic. That’s the true value of a good goalkeeper.”
Aberdeen are in good form right now, unbeaten in 14 Premiership games, with their last defeat coming against Rangers at Ibrox.
For both games against Gerrard’s team this term, the Dons have had Covid-related issues to deal with.
But today, aside from missing on-loan Ross McCrorie, McInnes feels they’ll be in the best shape possible.
He said: “We had obvious issues in the last two games against Rangers.
“We have more options ahead of this game. I do think the team is a bit more stable now.
“When you have any team coming up you look for areas to illustrate to the players where you can get some joy.
“But the biggest concentration has to be on my own side. Our fight is with ourselves this season.
“We must try to deliver a performance we feel we’re capable of. If we do that we can give any team problems.
“As difficult as it will be, we have to be better than our previous games against Rangers this season.
“And at Pittodrie we would always back ourselves to get a positive result.
“But they’re top of the league for a reason. The challenge is a difficult one but we can’t be shying away from it – we have to try to meet it.
“If we can plant a seed and Rangers aren’t getting it all their own way, that’s half the battle.
“We’ve done it in the past and our record against them is decent in comparison to other Premiership teams.
“Clearly this season hasn’t been good enough so we want to improve on that.”
Best keepers don’t always make the best saves – but they can turn one point into three