Aberdeen must be brave and grab the chance to beat Rangers at Pittodrie on Saturday.
A win would leap-frog the Dons above the Ibrox club and into second place in the Premiership.
My message to Aberdeen is to grab that opportunity and don’t let it slip away.
It is a magnificent feeling at the end of a game when you beat Rangers, I know from experience.
Rangers and Celtic are the big guns of Scottish football, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be shot down.
So go out and shoot them down.
Aberdeen must relish the chance to beat Rangers and go into the match believing they are the better team.
That is the mindset we had in the eighties. You must have it.
Aberdeen need to show a bit of arrogance and bravery on the ball to showcase what they are about both individually and as a team.
If you show any fear against any team, in particular Rangers and Celtic, they will take advantage of it.
So don’t show any fear. Be brave.
A rebuilt Aberdeen team have already had a good start to the season but can make that a sensational start by beating Rangers.
Watching Rangers trying to defend in the 4-0 loss to Celtic will give manager Jim Goodwin and his attackers optimism that they could cause problems.
Rangers will be hurting on the back of that loss to Celtic where they didn’t look organised.
Celtic played with a very high pace against Rangers where they took quick throw-ins and free-kicks.
That is nothing new. Aberdeen used to do that in my day.
Jim Goodwin’s side have to do that on Saturday.
You have to make a statement to any team that comes to Pittodrie. And that statement is that Aberdeen are there to win the game.
If the Dons go out with that attitude they definitely have a chance of beating Rangers.
Supporters have a lot of hope and enthusiasm about the season.
Beating Rangers to move second in the Premiership is a real chance to get the supporters even more excited.
Aberdeen will face Rangers with two strikers who look dangerous in attack – Bojan Miovski and Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes.
Duk netted a sensational goal against Ross County however Miovski will be the one who starts against Rangers.
Former Benfica striker Duk has only really played bit parts off the bench since being signed in the summer.
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Duk opens the scoring yesterday in Dingwall.#StandFree | #cinchPrem pic.twitter.com/CEPD6EQIe6
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) September 4, 2022
Obviously, there is nothing stopping manager Jim Goodwin from playing both Duk and Miovski together.
However, you don’t see that much these days as it is primarily a lone striker up there with supporting players.
Duk could be more of an impact player coming off the bench as he has pace, strength, directness and can clearly score goals, whereas Miovski is more of a cultured striker.
They are completely different and I feel Miovski is still ahead to get the nod for the starting XI.
But Duk is a very handy tool to bring on off the bench.
Against Ross County Duk brought real energy when starting the move for the goal 40 yards out.
He picked up the ball, played it wide and then had the engine and pace to race into the box to finish off the move.
And he showed magnificent skill to score with a scissors kick.
That will have undoubtedly have caught the manager’s eye, but Miovski remains the No.1 striker with Duk No.2.
Duk is at Pittodrie to put pressure on Miovski.
To have both strikers to call upon is an exciting prospect for the season.
Aberdeen definitely carry more of an attacking threat this season after a substantial summer rebuild.
The club’s recruitment team deserve real credit for their work during the transfer window.
Head of Recruitment Darren Mowbray has overseen 11 signings and every one of them appears to bring something to strengthen the Dons.
Lesson learnt with late goal agony
Aberdeen learnt a harsh lesson against Ross County that concentration is required right until the final whistle.
Leading 1-0, they were closing in on a win in Dingwall with seconds left on the clock only to concede.
All they had to do was deal with a long throw-in.
They couldn’t as William Akio netted with the last kick of the game.
It will be particularly frustrating as the Dons had coped with those throw-ins into the box well until that goalscoring incident.
The problem is that when you think you have scored a late winner you need to reinforce energy – to make sure you are not going to lose that late lead.
Sometimes the opposite happens and you switch off a little. That happened with Aberdeen.
You must put more energy on focus on being organised when going ahead late on.
I can understand the Aberdeen players and manager being shattered after conceding such a late goal.
However, at the same time, it looked like a game that was going to finish 0-0. Neither side created much in the way of opportunities.
Ross County made it a very energetic and physical encounter and Aberdeen players rarely got any time on the ball.
Although Aberdeen had the majority of possession, it was a scrappy game.
The Dons had a lot of set pieces and corners, but couldn’t find the quality of delivery.
Then there was the moment of sublime quality with Duk’s goal.
It was a magnificent passage of play started by Duk and finished in spectacular style.
However, fair play to Ross County who refused to give up and secured the late goal.
A point was probably about right in a game that lacked that cutting edge, particularly from Aberdeen.
The Dons had a lot of threats in and around the box, but they never materialised into clear-cut chances.
Ramirez Pittodrie exit best option
The best solution for Christian Ramirez and Aberdeen looks to be the striker exiting Pittodrie as soon as possible.
Ramirez is so far down the pecking order he is not even getting into the 20-man match-day squad.
When it gets to that situation, the best resolution for both parties is for the player to move on.
I was really surprised Ramirez was still at Pittodrie when the transfer window closed last week.
I thought Ramirez would move on, even if it was just to clear up his wages.
Even if those wages aren’t used until the January transfer window, it is still the best solution for everyone.
Summer signings Bojan Miovski and Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes are both ahead of Ramirez, so he is unlikely to feature.
Yet again, Ramirez was not in the squad for the trip to Ross County.
He has not played since featuring as a substitute in the 4-1 defeat of St Mirren last month.
Ramirez has played just 18 minutes of action in the Premiership this season.
The sooner he moves to another club to rebuild his career the better for him.
And that would be the best solution for Aberdeen as well.
There are a number of countries where the transfer window is still open.
That is still an avenue to go down if it suits both parties.
If not, then you are looking at the January transfer window, which is not that far away.
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