Daring Dons have no fear says McLeish

WHEN c a ptai n Alex McLeish hoisted aloft the 1990 Scottish Cup it was both his and Aberdeen’s fifth time lifting the trophy in eight years.

Few if any could have guessed at the culmination of a nailshredding 9-8 penalty shootout win over Celtic at Hampden that the famous piece of silverware would not return to Pittodrie in the three decades that followed.

But McLeish was left hugely e ncouraged a head of t hi s weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final between Celtic and Aberdeen as he watched a spirited Dons side secure a 3-3 home draw against t he champions on Sunday, courtesy of a late penalty from Lewis Ferguson.

In t heir performance, he detected a growing belief allied to a lack of fear amongst the talented young players assembled by Derek McInnes. It is a combination he feels can help Aberdeen’s next generation come of age by taking a giant step towards a f i rst Scottish Cup win in 30 years.

‘Aberdeen scored the late goal against Celtic on Sunday and I know it was only to get a draw but it will empower them quite significantly for the semi-final,’ said McLeish, who also won three Scottish titles, two league cups and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in a golden age for the Dons.

‘That performance will have given them a lot more belief for when they get to Hampden this weekend. The Dons will certainly have the belief they can do it. Derek has unleashed the young kids in the front areas of the team and they are playing with no fear.’

McLeish believes that defeat is almost unthinkable for Celtic and Neil Lennon after l osses to Rangers and AC Milan were followed by Sunday’s draw in the Granite City.

‘You don’t normally see the Old Firm clubs go on a prolonged bad run, so you would expect Celtic to come roaring back at some stage,’ he said. ‘They’ve had problems with the rhythm of their team being disrupted by the loss of four or five players and that’s left their defence looking a wee bit shaky.

‘It’s not often they go on a run of defeats and that’s two of the last three games they’ve lost now.

‘ With the semi- f i nal on Sunday, i t would be an absolute disaster if they lost again there.’

McLeish (right) would love to see Aberdeen’s Class of 2020 walk in his team’s footsteps from 1990 even if that final itself was a poor spectacle.

‘It was a drab game,’ he said.

‘ The t e a ms cancelled each other out. My outstanding memory of the final was my penalty kick. ‘I couldn’t hear any volunteers to take the sixth penalty, so, as captain, I put my hand up. ‘(Aberdeen coach) Jocky Scott asked me if I would score and I said: “I don’t know but I don’t see any other volunteers, so I’m taking it.”’ Former Rangers boss McLeish also detects the pendulum of power in the city of Glasgow swinging towards Ibrox as Steven Gerrard’s side bid to stop ten in a row. He said: ‘The way things are going for Rangers now, I get the feeling this could be their year.’ Alex McLeish was speaking to promote Premier Sports coverage of the Scottish Cup semi-final match Celtic v Aberdeen live and exclusive f r om 2pm on Sunday. Premier Sports is available on Sky, Virgin TV and the Premier Player. Prices s t ar t from £ 9.99 per month.