The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
No more drubbings at Celtic – Ramadani
Midfielder Ylber Ramadani insists Aberdeen will get it right next season to ensure there are no more heavy defeats by Celtic.
The Dons called time on the season with a 5-0 hammering by Premiership champions Celtic at Parkhead.
It was the second heavy away loss to Celtic this year.
Aberdeen crashed to a 4-0 defeat to the Hoops at Parkhead in February in manager Barry Robson’s third game in charge.
The Dons have lost all four Premiership games against Celtic this year, conceding 12 goals and failing to score.
Aberdeen failed to muster a single shot at goal on the day Celtic were awarded the Premiership trophy. Boss Robson is set to undertake a summer transfer window rebuild in the bid to fight on the domestic and European stage next season.
Ramadani is confident there will be no more heavy losses to the Hoops under Robson’s watch.
Ramadani said: “We will be back and will do the right things after we have gone on holiday and seen our families.
“We will do the right things, not things like the last 20 minutes against Celtic when we ended up losing 5-0.
“Aberdeen play to win every time home and away.
“We did not want the season to end like that with a 5-0 loss. The last 20 minutes were not good for us.
“I would say in the first 25 minutes we were playing good and pressing good with some good transitions.
“But that was absolutely not the way we wanted it to end.”
Aberdeen were two goals down at half-time following strikes by Kyogo Furuhashi.
Carl Starfelt headed home after the break before a late double from Oh Hyeon-gyu.
Albanian international Ramadani was keen to look at the bigger picture, as Aberdeen secured a thirdplaced finish and European qualification.
Ramadani said: “I think the new manager brought a lot of his mentality to the team. We had a tough period after losing to Hibs and Hearts (in January).
“Barry came into the dressing room, gave his mentality and we bounced back to become third in the table.”
Aberdeen have yet to discover what European competition they will enter next season.
That all hinges on Saturday’s Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Caley Thistle at Hampden.
Should Celtic win Aberdeen will enter the Europa League at the playoff round, just one twolegged tie away from the group stages.
Celtic have qualified for the Champions League as Premiership winners, so if they lift the Scottish Cup their spot as cup winners would go to the Dons.
That spot only goes to the Scottish Cup winners, not the runners-up.
Qualification for the group stages brings European football until mid-December and a cash boost of around £5 million.
Should they lose the playoffs, Aberdeen would then drop into the Conference League group stages.
However if Inverness win the Scottish Cup, Aberdeen will enter the Conference League at the third qualifying round.
Ramadani said: “I hope Celtic win the Scottish Cup because it will also be good for us to have eight games in European football.”
Celtic 5 Aberdeen 0 HOW THEY LINED UP
CELTIC (4-3-3) – Hart; Johnston (Ralston 64), Iwata, Starfelt, Taylor; O’Riley (Summers 79), McGregor, Hatate (Turnbull 79); Abada (Forrest 46), Furahashi (Oh 50), Jota. Subs not used – Siegrist, Bernabei, Welsh, Vata. ABERDEEN (3-5-2) – Roos 6; Pollock 4, MacDonald 4, MacKenzie 4; McCrorie 4 (Richardson 80), Ramadani 4, Clarkson 5, Shinnie 5, Hayes 4; Watkins 4, Duk 4 (Morris 71). Subs not used – Lewis, Barron, Markanday, Coulson, Duncan, Kennedy, Bavidge. Referee – Alan Muir 6. Man of the match – Callum McGregor.
Aberdeen’s rebuilding for a two-pronged fight on the European and domestic front can begin now that the curtain has come down on the season.
That it closed with a 5-0 hammering will be a cause of real frustration for manager Barry Robson.
It was a chastening day for the Dons who failed to muster a single shot at goal and had only 24% of possession. Celtic had 20 shots, eight on target and 76% of the ball.
However the job had already been done for Aberdeen in beating St Mirren four days earlier to confirm a third-placed finish. It was pride at stake and nothing more for the Dons in Glasgow. But they could take no pride from this hammering.
The Dons looked tired and in his post-match interview boss Barry Robson admitted it was “a game too far” for his team.
This could be the final bow for many Aberdeen players with permanent or loan deals now expired – and they will have exited on a low. Three players with loan deals up started at Parkhead – Graeme Shinnie (Wigan), Leighton Clarkson (Liverpool) and Mattie Pollock (Watford). Striker Marley Watkins, whose permanent deal will end, started.
Now that the season is over Aberdeen’s summer rebuild will ramp up. They aim to secure Shinnie, Clarkson and Liam Scales (Celtic) for next season.
Centre-back Scales, on loan from Celtic, was ineligible to play against his parent club.
Aberdeen are set to have Livingston right-back Nicky Devlin for next season, as he has agreed a two-year deal. Aberdeen have also targeted a summer swoop for Go Ahead Eagles centre-back Jay Idzes.
The Hoops went ahead in the 27 minutes when Kyogo Furuhashi turned sharply in the box to open up space before firing a magnificent 12-yard drive beyond Kelle Roos.
It was 2-0 in the 32nd minute courtesy of an uncharacteristic error from Roos, who had been excellent until that point.
A drive from Callum McGregor was parried out by Roos and Furuhashi pounced to fire in from the centre of the penalty area. Carl Starfelt headed home to make it 3-0 in the 78th minute.
Oh Hyeon-gyu made it 4-0 with a header in the 82nd minute before netting again in injury time with a right-footed drive.
Aberdeen’s main priority in the summer transfer window should be pushing through deals to sign Clarkson and Shinnie.
Shinnie is the engine room, the drive and passion of the Dons whilst Clarkson brings the magic spark to turn a game.
The leadership of Shinnie and creativity of Clarkson in midfield are both fundamental to making Aberdeen tick.
Ultimately they couldn’t stop Celtic over-running the show at Parkhead but they have been key in securing third.
Losing them would be a major loss. Signing them both for next season a massive boost.
Aberdeen are actively pushing to get both signed.
If Aberdeen could land a £5 million Uefa cash bonus by entering the Europa League it would help finance bids to land Shinnie and Clarkson.
Aberdeen are keen to sign England under-20 international Clarkson on a permanent deal.
However, if they cannot agree a permanent deal with Liverpool, the Dons are also open to bringing Clarkson back on loan.
He has pitched in with nine assists and five goals from the central midfield role but couldn’t add to that against Celtic.
Shinnie has a year left on his contract with Wigan, who were recently relegated to League 1. Wigan are open to selling Shinnie but it would take a six-figure fee to land him.
Thankfully Aberdeen had tied up a third-placed finish and European qualification before this hammering at Parkhead.
It will be a huge relief to the Dons and the club’s supporters that the only thing riding on this match in Glasgow was pride.
The pressure was off to an extent because the Reds had already done the job of securing third and Europe by beating St Mirren 3-0.
If Aberdeen needed to get a win or draw in the final game of the season to finish third this would have been a disastrous day.
Aberdeen lost 4-0 on their previous visit to Parkhead, only Robson’s third game in charge as manager.
Remarkably the Dons had conceded just three goals in the 11 games since then. But the defence was left wanting as they were hit for five against Celtic.
There can be no complaints about the score. Aberdeen had no shots at goal. After a slump with just one point from the previous three league games Celtic rediscovered their form against Aberdeen.
Although disappointed to finish the season with a hammering, Aberdeen will be hoping Celtic recreate that winning form at Hampden next weekend.
Because should Celtic win the Scottish Cup, the Dons will enter the Europa League at the play-off stage, just one two-legged tie from the lucrative group stages.
Which is why Celtic’s Scottish Cup final is infinitely more important to the Dons than their clash with the Hoops in the Premiership season closer.