THIS summer in far off Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan, some of those few Celtic supporters who had made the arduous journey struck up a conversation with the Scottish press pack.
The chat as you would expect was about football and more specifically how the hacks thought Celtic would fair in the Champions League, if the club got there, and then one fan piped up with a question which came from left field.
“When do Rangers go up to Pittodrie?” I wasn’t there but have been told there was real excitement and expectation among those in Astana about a match that for years had become almost as toxic as the Old Firm. Some would argue there was even more hate at times.
No wonder the neutrals, if you could call them that, were looking forward to the return of such a spectacle.
It goes back to Neil Simpson’s shameful tackle on Ian Durrant in 1988, or at least it does to this observer. Since then these games have witnessed some dreadful scenes in the stands at both Ibrox and Pittodrie.
“These people didn’t just dislike us, they despised us,” said Barry Ferguson this week as he recalled his days as a Rangers players when the people of the North East welcomed the team from Glasgow with open hatred. Yup, that’s about right.
But for all the nastiness, this fixture has been missed. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
“I do think it is a game that both sets of supporters have been looking forward to,” said Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes in what was something of an under-statement. “Players prefer to play in front of full houses in games with a bit of edge to it, and I think this game is one of those.
“Everyone wants to be involved in it. I think it’s a significant fixture on the calendar, Aberdeen against Rangers. It probably gets everyone fired up.
“They’re a good side, they had an impressive performance the other night when the beat Queen of the South. Rangers have got a lot of quality, having invested heavily in a squad that already looked good in the Championship, to consider them anything but a tough nut to crack.
“I don’t know about us being favourites. I can’t go and spend £2million or £3million and pay the wages they do. But we always feel we can win, especially at Pittodrie. Sunday is no different.”
Those with a Rangers link, be it as a former player of even someone who admitted to once being a supporter, do find that some among the Aberdeen support took some convincing to be won over if they ship up at their club. Just ask Jimmy Calderwood.
McInnes intriguingly rarely if ever speaks about his time as a player at Ibrox and perhaps that is why he has avoided such bad feelings so far.
“It has never, ever been mentioned (his time at Rangers),” he said. “I had been 13 years away from Rangers and played for so many clubs after that. For me it has never been an issue to be honest. I’m never really asked about it. This is probably the first time I’ve been asked about.”
What has been mentioned is that Aberdeen’s game with St Johnstone was moved to a Thursday two days after Rangers played Queen of the South in their tie. Is this fair?
“Look, it’s easy to move Aberdeen-St Johnstone than it is Celtic and Rangers,” said McInnes who plainly felt it was anything but fair. “Celtic are in Europe next week so that’s different. It’s not right that Rangers have 48 hours more going into a league game. That shouldn’t be...24 hours is usually the norm. It’s wrong but it is what it is. The issue has been mentioned.
“The players won’t be tired; it’s the preparation. We’ll get players in on the Friday for massages, ice baths and the like. Look, we will be ready. It’s not as if we are feeling sorry for ourselves. The bounce from beating St Johnstone, we have semi-final to look forward to which will light a fire under our supporters, will help.
“We have had a couple of late wins and they are the best kind of wins. They really are. It tells you a lot about your team.”
If Aberdeen do get a goal, a late winner or otherwise, then chances are that Adam Rooney will score it. He came off the bench to get the game’s only goal against St Johnstone, a superb header as it happens.
The Irishman has been quite happy for Rangers to take a lot of the attention away from his team so far this season.
“We just focus on ourselves,” Rooney said. “Rangers being back in the league draws some of the attention away from ourselves but it doesn’t bother us because we just go about our business.
“We want to get as far as we can in each competition. The cups are something we need to aim to win. We didn’t do too well in them last season. We now have a semi-final and a big game with Rangers to look forward to. Hopefully, we can now go out and take the three points.
“It should be a good atmosphere. It is one of those games the fans look forward to, if not their main game. Hopefully we can give them a win.”
Let the fun and games commence.
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