Aberdeen midfielder Leighton Clarkson delivers verdict on how the Dons will approach Celtic tonight having learned from their 6-0 thumping in the Scottish League Cup semi-final…
The Dons have been a revelation since the arrival of astute Swedish boss Jimmy Thelin. Winning 10 of their opening 14 league matches, Aberdeen sit 2nd in the table, four points off league leaders Celtic having played a game more than the Scottish champions.
However, the Pittodrie club’s first defeat under Jimmy Thelin which came at Hampden Park against Celtic in early November seems to have knocked confidence – evidence shows they have not been the same team since.
Following Celtic’s comprehensive 6-0 victory over Aberdeen, Thelin’s men have won one game in four in the Scottish Premiership. Pulsating away draws to Hibs and Hearts in the capital whilst a sore 2-1 defeat to St Mirren in Paisley means Aberdeen have fallen off in recent weeks.
Mind the Gap
Subsequently, theRangers have narrowed the gap on second place to seven points with the Ibrox club also possessing a game in hand over their league rivals. Meanwhile, the gap at the top has opened too, and if Celtic win this evening, seven points will separate first and second.
Notably, Brendan Rodgers’ side’s goal difference is vastly superior to any club in the table. It is remarkably at +36 following the conclusion of 13 games. Compare this to Aberdeen [+13] or theRangers [+9], it is worth an extra point.
English midfielder Leighton Clarkson scored Aberdeen’s opener at Tynecastle on Sunday afternoon, and he spoke to Press and Journal post-match about how the Dons will prepare for Celtic’s trip to the Granite City.
‘We can’t fear them…We’ll give them total respect’
“We can’t fear them. Before the 6-0 at Hampden, we had a decent record against Celtic by drawing the last three games,” Clarkson said. “We’ll give them total respect, but we’ll be going out and looking to perform to the best of our ability – and trying to take the three points.”
Clarkson added, as reported by Yahoo Sport: “I felt at Hampden we were a bit passive, and Celtic have got really good players. When you give them half a yard, they can punish you and they did. It’s happened, but that 6-0 loss is in the past now. We look forward.”
‘The fight has always been there’
“In the games since then, the spirit’s always been there. The fight has always been there. You saw it at the end against Hearts. We’ve got that real togetherness in the squad still. We need to be at it on Wednesday.”
With the top two meeting for the second time in the league this season, Brendan Rodgers’ Celts can create daylight between themselves and their nearest challengers with three points.
Conor Spence
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