McInnes has master plan for Glasgow glory
Staying in Glasgow after League Cup final anguish worked... now McInnes is aiming to repeat the trick
THE Glasgow bunker tactics worked a treat in December so Derek McInnes has ordered a repeat. Rather than head up the A90 following yesterday’s battling 0-0 Premiership draw with Celtic, the Aberdeen squad returned to their team hotel last night to start preparing for Tuesday’s Scottish Cup replay against Rangers.
The formula was set after the Dons’ Betfred Cup final appearance earlier in the season, when the team licked its wounds and produced an important Premiership win over Steven Gerrard’s side just a few nights later.
‘Whether we were going to be celebrating or dealing with disappointment after the final, it was important we shared that together,’ explained McInnes.
‘We knew the importance of the midweek game against Rangers and, from a sports science point of view, the physical output of the cup final was going to drain the players.
‘A lot was needed against Celtic and it would be the same against Rangers. We’ve travelled back from a cup final to Aberdeen before and, with traffic, it can take you five hours.
‘We just felt that coming back down again on the Tuesday was not conducive to good preparation.
‘And, from a mental point of view, it helped too. We allowed them no time to dwell on the final.’
This time round it’s the game at Ibrox that holds the greater significance within the context of Aberdeen’s season. Celtic’s domestic consistency has forced McInnes to prioritise the cup competitions and so the chance to earn a crack at the champions in a one-off tie at Hampden in the semi-final represents the north east club’s last chance of a trophy this season.
Keeping the squad together will afford maximum recovery time but he insists his players will not be tied to a strict programme as they build up to their second shot at the quarter-final.
‘This is the right thing to do and the players will get that,’ he continued. ‘Last time we didn’t need to see the players until the Monday lunchtime, so the families were down on the Sunday and could stay over in the hotel if they wanted to.
‘Again, it will be relaxed. They are not living in our pockets, under our watch the whole time. There is freedom there.
‘They will need to report for dinner, train and be in their beds for a certain time but they have the flexibility to do what they would normally do on a Sunday if they so wished.
‘We will try to keep it as normal to them as it would be at home but we are looking after their food, sleep and physical preparation.
‘It’s not as if they will be cooped up and watching video after video of the opposition. I don’t think we can tell them anything new about Rangers, although whether they will come up with something different for this game...’
Regardless of Steven Gerrard’s tactics on Tuesday, there will be some onus on McInnes to improvise. Striker Sam Cosgrove, who was harshly sent off during the teams’ last meeting in Glasgow, is suspended for the replay after being booked in the original tie at Pittodrie last weekend.
It was Cosgrove who gave Aberdeen the lead from the penalty spot last Sunday and in his absence either James Wilson or, more likely, Stevie May will be asked to step in.
While Cosgrove has been prolific since finding his goalscoring stride before Christmas, neither May nor on-loan Manchester United front man Wilson have looked especially sharp in front of goal this season.
‘Both players have struggled to have the impact they would have wanted,’ said McInnes, with some understatement. ‘You couldn’t dare criticise Stevie’s output in terms of his work rate but, without Sam’s
goals, it would probably be even more telling on these boys at the minute.
‘Stevie has always been a very good team player and, while he does so much unselfish work, ultimately he will be looking for more goals.
‘James is a different type of player. He probably doesn’t play as an out and out No9, he is probably better in and about someone.
‘He will be looking for more opportunity to play and if he takes his chance he is more than capable.’
Cosgrove’s absence will rob Aberdeen of a formidable focal point at the top end of the pitch but, while Alfredo Morelos is available to Gerrard, the Colombian is himself walking a disciplinary tightrope.
Booked for diving at Pittodrie, the 22-year-old will miss the chance to face Celtic in the last four should he be booked on Tuesday and Rangers progress.
Shown three red cards in this fixture already this season — one was later rescinded on appeal — Morelos has seemed susceptible to the peculiarly charged nature of this fixture. It’s not a stretch to imagine McKenna, Andy Considine or any other Aberdeen defender trying to rile the South American into a petulant kick but McInnes insists he will warn his players not to become involved in any unnecessary flashpoints. McKenna and Morelos (left) both walked after tangling in a league match last month and McInnes admits the defender deserved the punishment from referee Bobby Madden. ‘We’ve had two red cards in these games this season,’ continued McInnes.
Again, it will be quite relaxed. They are not living in our pockets, under our watch the whole time
‘With McKenna, we spoke to him afterwards and asked: “Did you kick out?”
‘He said aye and that’s why we didn’t appeal it. The boy needs to know that’s wrong.
‘You shouldn’t appeal it thinking: “We might get away with that”. For his development that would have been wrong.
‘On the other hand, Cosgrove shouldn’t have been sent off at Ibrox.
‘In terms of the physical aspect, I do feel that this fixture lends itself to being competitive. People are always looking for things, media commentators especially. It’s tittle tattle and nonsense really.
‘Both sets of fans are demanding but while I thought Sunday’s game was physical, I still felt there was enough restraint in the game.
‘I do think it needs that calmness. Fire and ice, we always say to the players.
‘When the game needs to be fiery and charged, fine, but there also needs to be moments of composure, on and off the ball.
‘It’s about trying to get that balance right. It gets built up for days but I like my players to just play the game not the occasion.’
With two wins, two draws and a solitary defeat from the teams’ five meetings this season, there is a definite sense that Aberdeen have rectified an old failing of shrinking when faced with Rangers.
McInnes wouldn’t dispute that but he still sees flaws in his side’s make-up and will encourage them not to play into the hands of Morelos and Co on Wednesday.
‘In too many big games we have conceded goals too easily,’ he adds. ‘That’s been especially true on the break, leaving too much space for these players.
‘There is no doubting Rangers have good players who, if given time and space to operate, can hurt you.
‘They have been in good form, free-flowing and scoring plenty of goals and that’s why we were so disappointed to concede a goal from a set-play last Sunday.’
With Celtic waiting in the last four, Wednesday’s winner will not be favourites to return to the national stadium in May.
‘Whoever gets through, it will have been a big ask,’ admits McInnes. ‘We just need to look at this game on its own merit because it will need our full concentration and a certain level of performance — one we know we are capable of.’