Glovely jubbly gaffer
Dante savours cold comfort
DANTE POLVARA reckons Neil Warnock has Aberdeen players warming to the task of getting their hands on the Scottish Cup.
The Dons have already proven they can handle big games after getting to the Viaplay Cup Final under Barry Robson and causing a few upsets in the Europa Conference League. But poor Premiership results saw Robson leave the club and Warnock immediately targeted silverware after taking over as interim boss this week. The veteran boss, who has swapped sunny Cornwall for sub-zero temperatures in the north-east, used to ban his players from wearing gloves in winter but has relented in the Granite City. Polvara said: “He said he never lets his teams wear gloves during training but it is a bit different up here. “He brings a bit of an old school mentality which is maybe what we need. I’m sure it will be different to what a lot of younger guys will know. “But it is exciting as we can learn so much from him. “Three-and-a-half months is quite a long time when we could potentially have around 20 games. “There is plenty of time on the training pitch. “The manager is someone who goes into good depth and pinpoints some key areas on things we can improve. “He said straight away he wants to win the Cup. That would be everything. “It is great to hear him being so confident when saying that. “If you consider where we are in the league, to come out and say we can win the Cup brings that confidence back into the group.
“We have already made it to a cup final this season so why not do it again – and finish it properly this time?
“If we put three wins together we are into the final. Three wins and the season changes and we will have been in two cup finals.”
Winning the Cup would also bring guaranteed European football. The Dons savoured that this season but are well out of the picture at the moment for qualifying via their league position.
Polvara was part of the squad who lost the Viaplay final to Rangers and that heartbreak is motivating him to go one step further.
The American added: “Yes, once you get a taste of it you realise what it is all about and the occasion.
“The final was an incredible atmosphere and we want more of that. To finish it in the right way would ultimately be the dream.
“Winning the Cup would bring so much good fortune with it. We know it is important. It is 11 men v 11 men and we have to get through them in this cup if we want to get to where we want to be. It is exciting and it feels like a fresh start in a way.”
Warnock has banned mobile phones in the dressing room but is hoping to make an instant connection with the Red Army when he takes his Pittodrie bow today against Bonnyrigg Rose.
He said: “I went down on Thursday and it is my type of ground. I played at Chesterfield, at Saltergate, and that reminded me of it, with the crowd right on top of you.
“I was a winger and they used to give me some stick, the blokes all had hats on. We won’t be taking them lightly.”
Slobodan Rubezic and James McGarry remain out long-term for Aberdeen.