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Sean Wallace: Real test of rebuilt Aberdeen will be Old Firm double header

Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin
Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin

The real test of the potential of Jim Goodwin’s rebuilt Aberdeen team will be discovered in the Old Firm double header at Pittodrie.

Should Goodwin’s side shock one, or both Celtic and Rangers, it will end a six-year run without a home league win against the Glasgow two.

That Aberdeen have not beaten Celtic and Rangers at Pittodrie since 2016 underlines the size of the task facing the Dons.

Should the Dons end that win drought the significance cannot be downplayed.

To secure success in Scotland you must not only possess quality but also the know-how and mental fortitude to beat Celtic and Rangers.

Manager Jim Goodwin has led Aberdeen to third in the Premiership. Image: SNS Group

Should Aberdeen show those qualities to take four, or six points, in the double header it will further galvanise a team growing in confidence.

It could also be the catalyst to deliver success… and potentially a trophy.

Aberdeen face Rangers in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden on Sunday, January 15.

Securing an early edge by beating Rangers at Pittodrie on Tuesday would be massive.

It could drive them on to emulate the team of 2018 who beat the Ibrox club 1-0 in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden.

Aberdeen fans cheer on their team against Dundee United.

Facing Celtic on Saturday then Rangers on Tuesday could not have come at a better time as the Dons are red hot at Pittodrie.

They are one of only eight teams in Britain to win five straight home league games or more in succession.

Aberdeen are potent in attack at home with 31 goals in 10 games in all competitions in the Granite City this season.

Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski celebrates scoring to make it 1-0 against Dundee United. Image: SNS

Nine of those games have been wins so confidence must be sky high.

There should be absolutely no fear in facing league leaders Celtic and second placed Gers.

When you add in a large, passionate crowd to that home form  it is a heady mix that could combine to overcome Celtic and Rangers.

Aberdeen have not beaten Celtic at Pittodrie since February 2016.

Jonny Hayes and Simon Church both netted in a 2-1 win that ignited Aberdeen’s Premiership title bid in front of a capacity crowd.

That win moved Aberdeen to within just three points of leaders Celtic with 24 games played.

It was a genuine title race and energised the city. You could feel the Granite City vibrating with anticipation and excitement.

That title bid eventually fizzled out. But it offered a tantalising taste of what could be.

By continuing to build and improve every transfer window that is what Goodwin’s side must aspire to.

To push Celtic and Rangers at the top of the table deep into the second half of the season.. and beyond.

Since that memorable win in 2016 the Dons have suffered 10 defeats and drawn just twice in 12 home games against Celtic.

Aberdeen are winless in their last 18 meetings with Celtic in all competitions since a 1-0 victory at Parkhead in May 2018.

That victory at Parkhead secured a second placed finish ahead of Rangers – proving the Glasgow two can be split.

Reward for that now would be a Champions League qualifying berth.

Rangers are unbeaten in their last nine league visits to Aberdeen (W5 D4) since a 2-1 loss in September 2016 under Mark Warburton.

Beating the clubs around them, and below them, in the table will be the bread and butter of Aberdeen’s bid for third.

However Aberdeen fans ultimately want more than that in future seasons… if not this campaign.

You can guarantee manager Jim Goodwin and the Pittodrie board also want more.

Football is all about progression. If you are not progressing you are at best stagnating, at worst going backwards.

Aberdeen flag bearers at Pittodrie before the 1-0 defeat of Dundee United.

Stagnation bleeds into regression which is why Aberdeen must strengthen further in the January transfer window.

There can be no resting on their laurels.

Shocking Celtic or Rangers, or both, could deliver a clear message of intent that Aberdeen are a squad and club on the up.

A message that must also be backed up by an active January transfer window where Aberdeen emerge even stronger.

Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski celebrates with Luis Lopes after making it 1-0 against Hibs.

Football first, human rights second

I have been demoralised at how quickly many people parked their morality when the  World Cup action began.

In the build up to the tournament pundits were venting indignation at Qatar’s human rights record and alarming stance on LGBTQ+ rights.

And rightly so. It needed to be addressed and condemned.

As soon as the football began the criticism and focus on the human rights issues, migrant worker deaths and LGBTQ+ stance stopped.

The World Cup in Qatar is coming to an end.

However the lack of rights for migrant workers an LGBTQ+ people continue.

Qatar remains a country where it is not legal nor safe to be LGBTQ+.

Under Qatari laws same-sex relationships are criminalised.

And arguably the biggest sporting event in the world is being held there.

Human rights organisations continue to press FIFA an Qatar to establish a compensation fund for migrant workers and their families.

When the final concludes everyone will celebrate the winners and what many are saying is a successful World Cup.

Yet nothing will have changed in Qatar for LGBTQ+ people and migrant workers.

So, for me, the World Cup has been an abject failure.

Terence Crawford underlines class

Hopefully Terence Crawford will face Errol Spence Junior in a world welterweight unification title showdown in 2023.

Both boxers have impeccable 100 per cent records.

Crawford underlined his class with a sixth round stoppage of David Avaneyan to retain his WBO welterweight world title.

It was American southpaw Crawford’s 10th successive knockout.

That victory took his record to 39 wins (30 stoppage), no draws, no losses.

Spence Jnr has won all 28 of his fights, with 22 stoppages. A Crawford-Spence Jnr clash would be one of the fights of the year.