ABERDEEN manager Derek McInnes has asserted that anything other than parity in the distribution of tickets for next month’s Betfred Cup final against Celtic at Hampden “would be a disgrace”.
With Hampden only a third full for the Granite City side's semi-final match against Morton on Saturday – albeit in difficult conditions for travelling supporters due to the SFA's decision to hold the meeting at the national stadium with an early kick-off – there is an argument to be made that the Glasgow side should command the lion's share of the tickets.
But McInnes insisted last night that the demand for briefs in Aberdeen and beyond for the November 27 match means his club would have little difficulty filling their half the 52,000-capacity national stadium, reminding the football authorities there were 40,000 of their fans present when Aberdeen won the trophy two years ago, beating Inverness Caledonian Thistle in a penalty shoot-out final at Parkhead.
There must be a straight 50-50 split of tickets for the first cup final of the season which he described as a “mouth-watering prospect”.
McInnes, who is considering changes to his line-up for tonight’s Ladbrokes Premiership fixture against Hamilton at New Douglas Park, did not shy away from questions about the Betfred final after Saturday’s 2-0 semi-final defeat of Morton took them to within 90 minutes of another cup triumph.
He said: “It will be a full house at Hampden and to win a trophy you normally need to beat the better teams somewhere along the way.
“That will be the case if we are going to win it.
“We will have to beat the team that is top of the league and the team everyone expects to win it.
“It is brilliant we have put ourselves in a position to be 90 minutes away from brining that trophy back.
“Should we get an even split of the tickets? One hundred per cent!
“I think we will as anything other than that would be a disgrace, to be honest.
“It would be a slap in the face for us as we took 40,000 plus to Parkhead two years ago.
“We are already playing them in Glasgow which is their home city.
“Our fans get the wrong end of the stick at times by having to go here, there and everywhere.
“I always think that any team outwith the Old Firm should get the opportunity to sell their allocation.
“I expect us to get parity. In the interests of fairness it should be split right down the middle.”
With Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic visiting Pittodrie on Saturday, McInnes is considering freshening-up his high-flyers by resting one or two players for tonight’s game in Lanarkshire.
“We have won six games in a row with a familiarity about the team,” McInnes added.
“Any time you have a three-game week and you have a healthy squad as we do then you would always look to see where you could best utilise that.”
Joe Lewis, the Dons goalkeeper, meanwhile, reckons Aberdeen fans should relish having James Maddison in the side before he is recalled to parent club, Norwich City.
Maddison 19, has proved a revelation since he started his short-term employment at Pittodrie and is scheduled to return to Norfolk in January.
Lewis, a former kid with the Canaries and a City fan, believes the on-loan midfielder is destined for the English Premier League, and he hopes it will be with the Carrow Road outfit.
Lewis said: “James is a top player; everyone can see that.
“He’s got a fantastic future ahead of him.
“I’m a Norwich fan so it’s great for me to see that the club has such a talented player coming through.
“But from an Aberdeen perspective it’s great to be playing with him and Norwich are doing well this season so hopefully they let him stay.
“Can he go on to play for a bigger club than Norwich?
“I’m the wrong person to ask that question – there’s no a bigger club.
“He will be a Premier League player, that’s for sure. Hopefully it’s with Norwich.”
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