Beating Celticis ultimate test, but it can be Dons

Forget entertainment, just win. That’s what Aberdeen have to do on Saturday in the Scottish Cup final.

The temptation is to take the game to Celtic, get an early goal and unsettle them as all the pressure is on Brendan Rodgers’ side to win the treble.

But Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes does not want to go all-out and leave his side chasing the game.

It tried that at Pittodrie a week ago and the game was finished as a contest after 11 minutes. I won the Scottish Cup with St Mirren 30 years ago and we did not let a goal in for 120 minutes. I won it again with the Dons in 1990 and again, we kept a clean sheet for 120 minutes.

That’s what wins big games. It’s simple really, the longer the Dons can keep Celtic from scoring the more their confidence of getting a famous win will grow.

What’s more, the longer the game goes the more nervous the Hoops will become. That’s what pressure does to teams, especially in a one-off game.

Aberdeen have had to deal with that pressure, unfairly in my view, every time they’ve played Rangers at Ibrox in the last 26 years.

Year after year the last win for my Aberdeen side there in 1991 was trundled out to pile the pressure on the Dons and it has affected several Aberdeen sides throughout the years.

But statistics can be misleading and Derek McInnes’ side showed that by going to Ibrox and winning on Wednesday.

That result alone will give this Aberdeen side a spring in its step at Hampden on Saturday.

The Dons beat Celtic twice last season and knocked the Hoops out of the Scottish Cup at Parkhead in 2014.

Now they’ve gone to Ibrox and put an end to all the talk of their record there once and for all.

Now the Partick Thistle match is out of the way the focus is 100% on ending the season with some silverware for their efforts. It would be a fitting reward for the efforts of Derek and his players if they could do it.

They’ve got the players who can hurt Celtic and they know the mistakes they’ve made in previous meetings.

There’s no shame in losing to a team, but what is important is showing you have learned from it when you play the next time.

That’s the challenge facing Aberdeen on Saturday.

It’s clear Aberdeen have good attacking players. They have pace out wide in Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn, and a lethal finisher in Adam Rooney.

Those three would give any side a chance of winning a game.

But what the Dons have to be is stronger at the other end of the pitch.

They took too long to settle into the game at Pittodrie recently and it was done and dusted early. They cannot make the same mistake again. That means Joe Lewis needs to be commanding in his penalty area, Ash Taylor and Mark Reynolds need to work as a unit and Shay Logan and Andy Considine must not let the wide men of Celtic get in behind them or give them space to deliver crosses into the box.

Similarly, Graeme Shinnie and Anthony O’Connor will be charged with the task of stifling the Hoops midfield and getting the ball to the attacking players in the Aberdeen team.

It’s a huge task but not mission impossible.

The Dons go to Hampden with few giving them a chance of stopping Celtic from winning the treble. I’m not one of those people.

I know how much Aberdeen hurt after their poor display in the Betfred Cup final in November and they’ve waited a long time to make amends.

Now’s their chance. I’m predicting an Aberdeen win – no surprise there – but I don’t see a lot of goals coming at Hampden. I’m going for a 1-0 Dons win.

“The longer the game goes the more nervous the Hoops will become”

CUP KING: Alex Smith with the Scottish Cup trophy in 1990