Aberdeen have not had to look far to see the red mist of late.
A week after they had two players, manager Derek McInnes and assistant Tony Docherty sent off against Celtic, they watched as Kilmarnock suffered their own disciplinary problems in the Dons’ 1-0 win at Rugby Park.
Tomorrow’s trip to Ibrox will see them take on Rangers for the seventh time this season and each one has had its fair share of lost tempers.
Alfredo Morelos, suspended for Sunday’s game, has seen red in three of those clashes, albeit seeing one of them rescinded. Sam Cosgrove and Scott McKenna have also been sent off in ties between the two clubs this campaign.
Stevie May, part of the Dons team that beat Rangers 2-0 at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup, accepts frayed emotions are part of these games. But they cannot get the better of those in red.
He said: “It’s clear to see there’s emotions that run high especially in these games. The Kilmarnock game was like that. You have to stay disciplined and not get involved more than you need to.
“Don’t let your emotions get the better of you; we’ve done that well to an extent but there are times when the boys will be disappointed with how they’ve reacted. It’s important to keep 11 men on the park and a few of our fixtures have shown that, even in the last month.”
In that Scottish Cup replay Aberdeen struck early through Niall McGinn, turning the Ibrox crowd against Steven Gerrard’s side.
May enjoyed one of his best games in a Dons shirt, pressing, harrying and rattling the unsettled Rangers back-line.
May said: “Hopefully if selected, I can do a job. They’re playing well and it’s one we’ll need to work hard for. Every game is like that in the top six but there’ll be points dropped around us. We’re going there giving everything to get more points on the board.
“It was a really good performance (in the cup). We’ve got a few injuries and people can take their opportunity. You can’t drop runners or switch off for any second. We’ve had a lot of big performances, which is credit to the boys in the changing room. There’s no reason why we can’t do something similar on Sunday.
“You have to take enjoyment out of doing that side of the game. You give yourself a pat on the back if there’s a misplaced pass, they shoot from range and miss and get the fans on their back.”
Second spot may be a long shot at this stage but victory over Rangers would be another step towards securing European football for the sixth successive campaign.
May added: “Kilmarnock was a huge win for us. It’s just about getting the points at this stage of the season. Teams are dropping points every week. It wasn’t as nice as we would have liked and would have liked to make it more comfortable, with the extra men, but the same points go on the table at the end of the day.
“Considering where we were, we’ve had a lot of work to do and some great results. We just need to progress from there. We’ve shown a couple of times, after a couple of defeats that could send you the other way, we’ve come back. The boys want to prove a point. It’s going to be tough but coming back from that adversity (against Celtic) it was good to get points on the board and stay disciplined.
“It’s good to see for the young boys, to be involved in games like that. They’ll learn a lot from games they’ve gone through this season.”