Out to follow in footsteps of Dons legends
RYAN JACK’S name is already up in Northern Lights at Pittodrie.
But Aberdeen’s captain knows he MUST lead the Dons to silverware to avoid becoming a footnote in club folklore.
Lifelong Reds fan Jack saw a childhood dream come true when he was made skipper last summer.
The significance of the role was never going to be lost on the 24-year-old, especially after his name was added to the list of historic armband-bearers in the Captain’s Club lounge at Pittodrie.
Amongst them, legends like Martin Buchan, Willie Miller, Alex McLeish and Stewart McKimmie stand out furthest, having inspired their respective teammates to cup glory.
And Jack is determined to follow in their legendary footsteps by dragging the Dons to victory over Celtic today.
“When the manager asked me to take over the captaincy, the first thing I thought about was how good it would be to be there with the rest of my teammates, leading us up the stairs to lift a trophy,” said Jack.
“I’m sure every captain visualises himself doing the same.
“You want to make your mark and be remembered.
“I want to lead the team on Sunday, get a good result and be remembered as a captain that has won something.
“I’m following in the footsteps of some impressive captains.
“You look at the captain’s board in the stadium and there are so many great names.
“Then you look down at the bottom of the list and see my name.
“You think: ‘Wow!’ I’m on a wall with so many legends, captains who have won something.
“It just makes me want to go and lift a trophy like them.”
Jack has already gotten his hands on the League Cup as an Aberdeen player.
And he insists the Dons can topple a domestically unbeaten Celtic side to claim it for the second time in three years.
“A lot was made about the last final. There was a lot of pressure on our shoulders because we hadn’t won a trophy for a while,” he said.
“There was talk about whether we would fall at the final hurdle again.
“Thankfully, we fronted up and now we have those great memories.
“There was the bus parade down Union Street that followed and that was special. It is something that will live with me for the rest of my life.
“I don’t see why we can’t have that feeling again.
“We want to be known as a team who achieved something when we were at Aberdeen.
“We sat down at the start of the season with the manager and the staff and he asked us what we wanted to do this season, where we wanted to go.
“We all said we wanted to make sure we got to at least one Cup Final.
“We’ve answered up so far, and this is a game we have 100% belief we can win.”