PITTODRIE POWDERKEG
Granite City battle is the closest Gerrard’s men can get to derby dress rehearsal as they prepare for a...
DERBIES are not necessarily defined by distance. Steven Gerrard believes Rangers are facing two of them this week, even if the games are separated by 150 miles of road.
Sunday’s Betfred Cup final meeting at Hampden with Celtic will be a prime exhibition of the Ibrox club’s ferocious rivalry with their near neighbours.
Supplying a chance to claim a first piece of major silverware in eight years, it is not a match that needs hyping for anyone who views their sporting life through a blue-tinted lens.
Before then, however, the Rangers players and management head north for a game that might just be about as close a preparation for an Old Firm experience as you can get.
The enmity that exists around meetings with Aberdeen has been an eye-opener for Gerrard since he took command. It has become a fixture for him to relish. And he fully expects his players to feel the same.
The 39-year-old knows hostility awaits inside Pittodrie, yet views that firmly as a source of inspiration rather than intimidation.
Asked if facing Aberdeen had a derby feel, Gerrard replied: ‘It does. I think it is a rivalry that is more than I actually thought from the outside before I came up. The two teams that get mentioned here a lot are always Celtic and Aberdeen.
‘It’s an exciting fixture. It’s on TV. We’ve had some incredible battles against Aberdeen in the 18 months I have been up here and I don’t think this game will be any different.
‘I’ve certainly enjoyed going up to Pittodrie and relished the challenge. It’s a great fixture and one we are looking forward to again.
‘Good players, the best players, put their chest out. Whatever atmosphere, whatever environment they are in, whatever challenge is set, they go: “Yes, I fancy this. Bring it on”.
‘That’s got to be the mentality throughout the whole month, but certainly against Aberdeen away. The best players, the good players, don’t shy away from that.
‘They love it and they relish it. That’s how I want my players to approach this one. I want them to bounce up here, really fancy it and say: “Bring it on, come on”.’
Rangers may have racked up five successive Premiership wins to sit just a goal behind Celtic, but Gerrard remains respectful of Aberdeen’s recent improvement. The Dons have won four and drawn one since being thrashed by the Parkhead outfit in late October.
Derek McInnes’ men were also routed 5-0 when an injury-depleted line-up travelled to Ibrox in September.
Gerrard, however, predicts that result will provide an additional impetus to the home side this evening.
‘It would have been a tough one and I’m sure that’s going to be a large part of their motivation,’ he continued.
‘But that is for Aberdeen to worry about. For me, it is about preparing my team and having them ready from the off to compete.
‘We know Aberdeen will bring physicality to the game, so we need to handle that and stand up to that. And, at the right times when we get the chance, show our quality.
‘That will be the key to this game — competing, matching Aberdeen in the physicality and believing we have the quality to go and hurt them. If we do that, we’ll be alright.
‘We actually performed ever so well at Pittodrie last season. We had more problems away from Pittodrie against Aberdeen.
‘If you analyse it properly, we went up there on the first day of the season, when we are all new to it, our first challenge, and we performed ever so well. We were unlucky not to come away with maximum points. And we went there and won 4-2. So we have put in some really strong performances up at Pittodrie.
‘But if you compare where we are with last season, we have certainly come on leaps and bounds. We have made massive strides. Hopefully, people will see that at Pittodrie.’
Gerrard also hopes Rangers will continue to see skipper James Tavernier climb back towards peak form.
Scorer of six penalties against Aberdeen since the start of last season, the right-back suffered an autumn crisis when a loss of accuracy from the spot was accompanied by some high-profile errors.
His manager offered support during that period and has now praised Tavernier for the method of his fightback.
‘I admire the way James has gone about it,’ said Gerrard. ‘He has turned the focus up even more. He is working even harder.
‘He is only human. He has gone to the well for me time and time again. He has never missed a training session or a game.
‘It’s only natural that, at some stage, he is going to have a dip in form or make certain mistakes in certain games.
‘But he has turned the focus up and knuckled down. He is doing everything he can to play through it but, at that time, I think James needed me. He needed the backing of me, my staff and the players around him and that’s what he got.’
Last Sunday’s 5-0 rout of Hearts witnessed a swashbuckling display from Tavernier in what was his 100th game as captain.
‘He is a captain who is there for you in every single game and training session,’ said Gerrard.
‘It’s about the standards you set daily. If you do that, the rest follows.’